What is Mark Zuckerberg building over in Hawaii? According to a lengthy investigation by Wired, the Facebook cofounder and his wife, Priscilla Chan, may be putting together a pricey residential compound with all the trappings of an elite post-apocalyptic bunker on Kauai. Amidst buzz (and backlash) surrounding the top-secret construction, Zuckerberg shared a few glimpses of his life at the residence on Instagram.
In the first, posted on Wednesday, the tech titan shared that he has started raising wagyu and angus cattle on the property and aims to “create some of the highest-quality beef in the world.” Zuckerberg explained in the post’s caption that the animals will be fed a diet of macadamia meal and beer, both grown and produced on the premises. “Of all my projects, this is the most delicious,” he wrote in the caption accompanying a carousel of photos, with shots of himself dining on some of the beef as well as an image of one of his three daughters digging a hole in which to plant a macadamia tree.
Yesterday, the Meta CEO published a short video that seemed to poke fun at the media coverage of his home. “When your wife catches you in the ‘bunker,’” reads text over footage of Chan typing in an access code to a door in a bare cement-floored area of the property. The door opens to reveal Zuck and friends playing video games inside a large tiered auditorium/theater.
The Zucks—who are known for owning thoroughly modern, gargantuan properties—assembled the 1,400-acre estate known as Koolau Ranch over multiple transactions starting in August of 2014. Reportedly, the compound will generate its own energy, grow its own food, and include a 5,000-square-foot underground bunker that comes with a blast-resistant door, a living space, and an escape hatch.
Zuckerberg’s compounds are also known for their privacy, and Koolau Ranch is no different. Almost everyone working on the project has signed a non-disclosure agreement and, according to Wired, there have been several firings over workers posting about the project on social media. The publication says that crews working on specific projects are forbidden to discuss their jobs with any team members outside of the one to which they belong.
According to public records and a secret source, Wired shared that the estate is nearly complete. The main quarters are said to consist of over a dozen buildings, with at least 30 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms. The area is centered around two massive mansions comparable in size to a professional football field, containing offices, elevators, conference rooms, and an industrial-size kitchen. And, reminiscent of a sci-fi movie, many of the compound’s doors will be soundproofed, operated via keypad, or will be “blind doors,” made to imitate the design of the surrounding walls.
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A tunnel will allegedly connect the two mansions and will provide a route to the bunker. A nearby building on the property will reportedly boast a full-size gym, pools, a sauna, a hot tub, a cold plunge pool, and a tennis court. And there’ll even be 11 treehouses linked by rope bridges so guests never have to touch the ground when jumping between the structures. Zuckerberg has already hosted two corporate events (that Wired knows of) on the property.
Conservative estimates put the total price of the compound at a cool $270 million.
