Inside Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg’s Island of Secrets: Hawaiian fortress with bunkers, mansions, hidden tunnels, it costs Rs…

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a vision for which he set foot in the US Island of Hawaii in 2014. He started with a USD 100 million (Rs 8,748,699,900) land deal for 700 acres on Kauai’s ‘Garden Isle’ which has now grown into a 2,300 acres expansive private empire, according to a report. Now, more than a decade later, the Meta CEO’s private estate, called Koʻolau Ranch, is far and wide with the height atop a mountain to ocean and is expensive than the island’s annual public infrastructure budget, as per a LuxuryLaunches report.

What is there in Koʻolau Ranch?

Mark Zuckerberg’s Isle is more like a fortified structure built with high-tech features. This is revealed by several drone images, permits, and local reporting. There are two colossal mansions hidden inside the dense foliage which have underground tunnels, multiple guesthouses, a gym, and the estate even features high-tech treehouses suspended in the jungle, according to the report. What makes it more strategic is a 5,000-square-foot underground bunker, which is fully equipped with blast-resistant doors, a secret escape hatch, and panic rooms, as per the LuxuryLaunches report. The estate is completely protected from all sides with security cameras, motion sensors, and keypad-locked gates, and the workers are under the non-disclosure agreements, reported LuxuryLaunches.

Zuckerberg’s representatives portray the ranch as a model for sustainability, and showcase the orchards of macadamia nuts, turmeric, and ginger, but even with the revelation of massive donations to local nonprofits, many Native Hawaiians see the project as something as a burden on them, as they are forced to displace from their homes.

What backlash did Mark Zuckerberg face?

Public anger arose in 2016 when Mark Zuckerberg faced backlash for the estate. He filed various lawsuits to know the descendants of 14 tiny Kuleana land parcels within his estate, which was granted to Native Hawaiian commoners in the 1800s, as per the report. These parcels are mostly less than an acre and are a paradise of rich culture and ancestral experience. Many saw the lawsuits as a form of legal bullying, which were filed through a legal process called “quiet title,”. A summons reached the families which made them realise they were the landowners, but they were not fully equipped to fight back, as per the LuxuryLaunches report.