Mark Zuckerberg (36) is rapidly expanding his already huge Hawaiian property: Now the Facebook founder has acquired 242 more hectares of land – in addition to his existing huge property and villa on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
The hefty price for the land purchase: 53 million dollars (43.9 million euros). As reported by the “Pacific Business News”, the deal was signed and sealed on March 19 by the tech billionaire and his wife Priscilla Chan (36).
There are three parcels, including a remote property on the north side of the island including a beach called “Larsen’s Beach”. However, access via a public road must remain free, as required by law in Hawaii.
The land was bought by the “Waioli Corporation” foundation, which was founded by the Wilcoxes, an old family of missionaries, to preserve historical places and areas of land on the Pacific island. According to the website, the properties that Zuckerberg acquired contain “reef, marine, bird, flora and historical collections in their unchanged natural habitat”.
Waioli President Sam Pratt stated that the natural treasures “are in good hands with Mark and Priscilla as administrators with a sense of responsibility”.
Zuckerberg displaces natives
In the past, however, Zuckerberg’s consumerism in Kauai had often caused severe criticism: From 2014, he gradually acquired 283 hectares of land.
However, within the area there were smaller parcels owned by so-called “Kamaaina” families (descendants of Hawaiian natives). However, they had no title deeds for it. The Facebook boss first tried to get rid of the families with lawsuits by forcing public auctions in court. His most important goal: He wanted “more privacy”, according to the “New York Post”.
Amid negative headlines, he withdrew the lawsuit and apologized in an opinion piece in the local newspaper “The Garden Island”.
But the anger on the island did not want to subside: In 2019, Zuckerberg was accused of continuing legal attacks on Hawaiian families through resident Professor Carlos Andrade and bogus companies.
Zuckerberg had denied his role at the time. “Mark is not suing local Hawaiians and no one has been evicted from the country,” a spokesman told Newsweek at the time.
And: “At the beginning of 2017, Mark withdrew as a plaintiff from the process to clarify the ownership rights to the land he bought on Kauai.”
Foto: Getty Images-“data-zoom-src =” https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/die-paradiesische-insel-kauai-1c314fd9e0894e41adca337a2032b016-76275612/Bild/3.bild.jpg “/>
The paradise island of KauaiFoto: Getty Images
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Critics accuse Zuckerberg of “neocolonialism”
But the criticism does not want to fall silent: Zuckerberg’s consumerism on the paradisiacal Pacific island was denounced as a form of “neocolonialism”, at least according to University Professor Kapua Sproat to the “Guardian”.
A petition demands, “Stop Mark Zuckerberg from colonizing Kauai!”
As of Saturday, 1,014,219 million people had already signed this petition. It reads, “Mark Zuckerberg is the sixth richest man in the world … and he’s suing the Native Hawaiians in Kauai for their land so he can build a mansion. He’s building a mansion to do what? To live on Kauai two months a year? That’s inhuman!”
In any case, Zuckerberg built a palace for 83 million dollars in a beautiful coastal location: with a total living space of 5300 square meters, there are eight bedrooms, nine full and 16 half bathrooms. The property is behind a wall.
With the most recent purchase, Zuckerberg wanted to make it clear right away that there should be no evictions.
“Waioli is doing important work to promote nature conservation and cultural preservation, and we are aware of their legacy in relation to this land,” said a new statement by the extremely wealthy couple.
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