Mark Zuckerberg is building a $100M hidden compound on his Hawaiian island ranch — and he doesn’t want you to know about it.
I’m so fascinated by this. It’s not just the Meta CEO, either — billionaires worldwide are adding fortresses to their properties. Why? Good question.
🏝️ Island getaway (from the rest of humanity)
Zuckerberg bought the 1,400-acre Koolau Ranch on Kauai Island in 2014, but only in the last few years did he start a major construction project on the property. Of course, workers had to sign documents promising to keep the details quiet.
Good thing for us who want to be nosey: All the work requires permits. Planning documents show Zuck is building a sprawling estate with a dozen buildings (no surprise) with a 5,000-square-foot subterranean bunker hidden underneath.
Is Zuck preparing for the apocalypse, or at least some sort of societal collapse? Maybe. The plans do include what appears to be a blast-resistant door. Dang, I forgot to include one of those at my new house. Makes you wonder what he knows that we don’t
Billionaires club
If he is getting ready for the end of days, he’s not the first multi-billionaire to hedge his bets on the fate of humanity. Heck, he wouldn’t even be the only one to do so on Kauai. Another billionaire, Frank VanderSloot (his real name), recently bought a 2,000-acre ranch just south of Zuck’s compound for a cool $51M.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said that he and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel have an “arrangement” set up in case the world is ending. If things hit the fan, the pair would fly to one of Thiel’s properties in New Zealand to hide out.
Wonder where exactly they’re going to stay. In 2022, a local community council on New Zealand’s South Island blocked Thiel’s plans to build a bunker compound. They said it would disturb the local environment. Look at that, the little guy still wins sometimes.
BYOP (Buy your own passport)
More and more uber-wealthy people have been buying islands — or at least big chunks of them — in recent years. Richard Branson and Johnny Depp top listicles about privately owned islands, along with wealthy fams like the Du Ponts and the Disneys. (OK, I want to stay on the Disney private island. Know anyone?)
Some are even paying top dollar to become citizens in different countries. So-called “golden visas” effectively allow wealthy people to gain residence — and even citizenship — in foreign countries in exchange for cold, hard cash. How much? We’re talking millions in some cases.
So, uh, what are they worried about?
No one is really coming out and saying it, but you name it and I bet it’s on the list: War, pollution, asteroids, climate, famine, the robot revolution … aliens? Maybe it’s all of the above. As for me, I’m good. I have cash, guns, food, and, oh, one more thing, my faith in God.