Mark Zuckerberg has made himself right at home in Palo Alto, California, over the past 14 years—11 homes, to be exact. Since his 2011 move to Crescent Park, an affluent neighborhood in the Bay Area, Zuckerberg has spent $110 million on adding nearly a dozen properties in the area to his portfolio, per the New York Times. It was reported that the Facebook co-founder converted five of those buildings, spread across two streets, into one single compound, which he uses as a primary residence for himself and his family.
Per the NYT, the estate currently features guest homes, gardens, a pickleball court, and a large swimming pool with a hydrofloor covering. One of the thus-far unoccupied buildings is used as a base for outdoor parties. (To spice up the yard’s scenery, Zuckerberg commissioned a seven-foot-tall statue of his wife Priscilla Chan.)
“The Billionaire’s Bat Cave”
The tech executive added 7,000 square feet beneath the compound which permits refer to as basements, but which neighbors call “bunkers” or the “billionaire’s bat cave.” While AD cannot confirm that the expansive underground structure has been set up as a “bunker,” Zuckerberg clearly has an affinity for subterranean space; after a Wired investigation last year led to an uproar in press buzz about a “bunker” on his Kauai compound, he issued a wry response: “When your wife catches you in the ‘bunker,’” he captioned an Instagram post with a clip of Chan typing a code into a door. The entry opens to reveal Zuck playing video games inside a tiered theater.
Another building on the Palo Alto compound is being used by the family as a private school for 14 children, per the NYT; the outlet reports that such a use for the structure is against Palo Alto city codes. In response to the report, a spokesperson for the couple told the SF Chronicle that the school began as a learning pod during school closures amid the pandemic and has continued as a way to provide stability for the children.
Neighbors sound off
Zuckerberg’s expansion of his footprint in the neighborhood has rankled members of the community, according to the residents NYT spoke with. Construction on Zuckerberg’s mega-compound has reportedly spanned more than eight years, with residents of the area complaining that the streets are constantly filled with building equipment, and that loud noises and disruptive events have become commonplace. Some have taken issue with the tech lord’s extensive surveillance systems, which include cameras overlooking other houses in the neighborhood, according to the NYT. It was also reported that the Meta CEO and his team have been offering homeowners in the area as much as $14.5 million—double or even triple what the homes in the area are worth, in some cases—to move out of their dwellings.
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Meeting “Facebook standards”
When Zuckerberg bought the home next door to him, Michael Kieschnick said the billionaire’s staff members informed Kieschnick that the wooden fence separating their two homes “did not meet Facebook standards.” (The NYT did not expand on the definition of that characterization.) It has since been rebuilt twice, thicker and taller with each round.
After receiving a number of complaints from neighbors, the Meta founder’s security guards are now reportedly driving electric cars rather than louder gas-fueled vehicles. On one occasion, when goings-on at Zuckerberg’s property caused too much noise, his staff sent gift baskets out to neighbors which included bottles of sparkling wine, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and noise-cancelling headphones, per the NYT.