Does Mark Zuckerberg know something we don’t? Thanks to some investigative work from Wired, it’s been revealed that the world’s seventh-richest man is building a billionaire bunker in Hawaii. Set to drop USD$270 million (AU$401 million) on the top secret compound, public records and documents have now shown all the extravagant amenities Zuckerberg plans to include in his Koolau Ranch property located on the northeast shore of Hawaii’s oldest island, Kauai.
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As per reports from the publication, the Facebook founder has invested a staggering sum of USD$170 million in purchasing land in Kauai since August 2014. He is now anticipated to allocate an additional USD$100 million for the construction expenses of his survivalist-styled project. Once the expansive “home” spanning 1400 acres is finished, it will comprise at least 30 bedrooms, 30 bathrooms, and, alarmingly, a substantial underground bunker.
A sophisticated underground tunnel network will link the multiple mansions together. This extensive pathway, spanning 5,000 square feet, serves a dual purpose as a passage and a shelter. This tunnel system has various amenities, including a living area, a library, and an escape hatch. To ensure security, the bunker is fortified with soundproof doors crafted from metal and concrete, designed to safeguard against potential threats such as bomb attacks. Like something out of the recently released Netflix thriller Leave The World Behind, the property is also equipped with its own water and agriculture facilities.
Descriptions of this undertaking prompted The New York Post to dub the venture the “Zuckerbunker.” At the same time, Business Insider raised questions about whether Zuckerberg, whose personal fortune is estimated at around US$115.3 billion, might have doomsday prepper tendencies.
As expected of a billionaire with a taste for adventure, the estate boasts an array of luxurious amenities that fulfil every conceivable desire. Among these are guest houses, a fully equipped gym, a sauna, multiple swimming pools, a hot tub, a cold plunge pool, and a tennis court. Notably, one of the most distinctive features of Zuckerberg’s boujee residence is an interconnected network of 11 treehouses linked by rope bridges.
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However, despite the considerable employment opportunities provided to locals by the estate, criticisms have emerged, accusing the businessman of engaging in a form of ‘colonisation’ in Hawaii. A 2020 Change.org petition alleged that the billionaire resorted to legal action against indigenous inhabitants to construct his mansion on their land.
The petition contended that Hawaiians already suffer mistreatment and emphasised the importance of respecting their land rights. Questions were raised regarding the necessity of building a lavish mansion for temporary residence in Kauai for only two months annually, deeming it an inhumane and excessive endeavour that warrants intervention.
Adding to the controversy, an op-ed featured in Kauai’s newspaper, The Garden Island, highlighted local discontent concerning access to the beach after Zuckerberg’s erection of a stone wall around his property.
“This is a case of Zuckerberg stonewalling the entire community, ensuring a continually rocky relationship with his neighbors (sic),” Paracini wrote in a op-ed. “I would advise that he cement a much better bond with local people if he only cared to do so. Which, apparently, he does not.”
Setting aside his tiff with the locals, the compound’s blueprints pose grim questions for humanity’s prospects. Why the obsession with crafting an underground lair for himself and his clan? Is he privy to cataclysmic intel, whispered perhaps at one of his exclusive soirees where he and his fellow elites map out their world domination strategy? All we can ascertain is this: for a bloke gung-ho on ferrying folks to the metaverse, he’s sure pulling off some big movies right here on good ol’ Earth.
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