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According to Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, he has NOT built an apocalypse-proof bunker at his $270 million compound on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

“No, I think that’s just like a little shelter — it’s like a basement,” he told Bloomberg’s Emily Chang in an interview this week. “Whatever you want to call it, hurricane shelter whatever.”

“I think it got like, blown out of proportion as if like the whole ranch was some kind of like doomsday bunker, which is just not true,” he added.

(Video Credit: Bloomberg Originals)

He previously claimed that the $270-million compound itself is designed to raise “world-class” cattle on beer and macadamia nuts in order to “create some of the highest-quality beef in the world.”

Uh-huh…

As previously reported, the compound has been mired in controversy over all the secrecy, particularly during the building stage.

“Nobody working on this project is allowed to talk about what they’re building. Almost anyone who passes compound security—from carpenters to electricians to painters to security guards—is bound by a strict nondisclosure agreement, according to several workers involved in the project,” according to a Wired magazine piece published last year.

“And, they say, these agreements aren’t a formality. Multiple workers claim they saw or heard about colleagues removed from the project for posting about it on social media. Different construction crews within the site are assigned to separate projects and workers are forbidden from speaking with other crews about their work,” the piece continued.

“It’s Fight Club. We don’t talk about Fight Club,” one former contract employee told the magazine, referencing a line from the popular film “Fight Club.”

The rules were reportedly so strict that a former site worker was reportedly fired after he shared a picture of the project on social media.

The project was likewise so secretive that some likened the compound to the lair of a “James Bond” villain. Ironically, former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan reportedly lives only ten miles from the compound.

Known as Koolau Ranch, the property encompasses 1,400 acres, includes a 5,000 square-foot underground bunker (or “basement”), and even has “its own energy and food supplies,” according to Wired.

Furthermore, the project to build it “relied on legal maneuvering and political networking” to bypass legal requirements. This “maneuvering” left locals frustrated and outraged.

“Many locals believe Zuckerberg’s legal maneuverings are another example of outsiders moving to Hawaii and taking advantage of people already living there. … Zuckerberg didn’t engage much with his new neighbors. … And the project hasn’t gone through any public review process, as is sometimes required for construction projects on this scale,” Wired noted.

Neighbors also didn’t like the secrecy.

“Other than its sheer opulence, another aspect of the project that has dismayed islanders is the intense secrecy in which it is being carried out. One of Zuckerberg’s first acts was to erect a mile-long, 6 ft-high wall made from volcanic rock around much of the property,” according to the Daily Mail.

“Local people say it has destroyed their idyllic views of the coast, while down on the beach below — which Zuckerberg hasn’t been able to buy — visitors have to put up with being watched from ‘guard huts’ dotted along the edge of the tycoon’s land,” according to the outlet.

According to a separate report from Benzinga, Zuckerberg has also started building a 75,000-square-foot compound on Lake Tahoe’s western shore. Though to be clear, he’s owned the land since 2019.

“Zuckerberg owns two adjacent estates in Lake Tahoe, acquired in 2019 for a combined $59 million,” Benzinga notes. “The Brushwood Estate, one of these properties, features 5,322 square feet of living space, including six bedrooms and a guesthouse.”

“[T]he existing homes on these two properties have [since] been demolished to make way for new development, as confirmed by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Zuckerberg is reportedly planning a 75,000-square-foot compound on Lake Tahoe’s western shore,” according to Benzinga.

Lake Tahoe is reportedly a popular summer and winter vacation destination for wealthy people like the Zuckerbergs.

Zuckerberg’s Lake Tahoe property is also smaller than the Koolau Ranch.

“At 5,322 square feet, the Brushwood Estate features six bedrooms, five baths, and two half baths. … Inside are high-beamed ceilings and picture windows; outside are lush trees, a private dock, and a hot tub. There’s also a 2,293-square-foot guesthouse,” according to Insider.

Vivek Saxena
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