Mark Zuckerberg Denies Building 5,000-Square-Foot “Doomsday Bunker” in Hawaii
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has dismissed reports that he is building a 5,000-square-foot underground bunker beneath his 1,400-acre compound in Hawaii, instead describing it as a “little shelter” and “like a basement”.
The 40-year-old tech tycoon made the comments during an interview with Bloomberg, in which he was asked about rumors of the alleged underground facility. The compound, known as Koolau Ranch, is currently under construction and is expected to feature a 5,000-square-foot underground shelter, as well as over a dozen buildings with at least 30 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms.
Zuckerberg’s statement contradicts earlier reports by Wired, which claimed that the underground facility is equipped with a blast-resistant door made of metal and filled in with concrete, as well as a living space, mechanical room, and escape hatch.
The ranch is also expected to include a number of luxury features, including two mansions with a total floor area of 57,000 square feet, linked together by a tunnel that branches off into the underground facility. Other amenities include a full-size gym, pools, sauna, hot tub, cold plunge, and tennis court, as well as a number of rope bridges and disk-shaped treehouses.
The property is likely to be one of the most expensive in the world, with a reported value of $270 million. The Zuckerbergs have bought up land on the island of Kauai in three tranches, with the most recent purchase being a 700-acre tract for over $100 million in 2014.
The construction of the ranch has not been without controversy, with some locals expressing concerns about the environmental impact of the project. In 2016, a local journalist wrote a critical op-ed about Zuckerberg’s use of a rock wall to block public access to a beach on his property, prompting a backlash from residents and calls for greater transparency and cooperation from the Facebook founder.