Mark Zuckerberg buys up another 600 acres of Hawaii which he promises to ‘conserve’
Aerial view of Na Pali coast, Kauai, Hawaii
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Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan have bought another 600 acres of Hawaiian real estate for $53m.
The billionaire splashed out for three parcels of waterfront property at Kauai’s Larsen’s Beach from the non-profit Waioli Corporation.
A road that reaches the beach was not included in the sale and remains public, according to reports.
Known as the “Lepeuli ahupua’a,” the property houses several “reef, sea, avian, flora and historical collections in their unaltered native habitat,” according to the Waioli Corporation.
“We know that this land will remain in their trusted hands and that Mark and Priscilla will act as responsible stewards of Lepeuli today and in the future,” Waioli Corporation President Sam Pratt told Pacific Business News.
The purchase takes Zuckerberg’s land ownership in Hawaii to 1,300 acres.
He bought a 700 acre estate on Kauai in 2015, but ran into issues with a number of families who owned small parcels within the estate.
The owners were known as “kamaaina families” or descendants of native Hawaiian families who had inherited the land without formal deeds.
The tech mogul courted controversy by filing a string of lawsuits to evict the families by forcing them to sell their land at public auction.
He eventually dropped the lawsuits and admitted his “mistake” in an apologetic op-ed article in the island’s newspaper.
Land on his new estate is currently leased to Paradise Ranch, and the Facebook CEO was quick to say that he does not plan on evicting anyone.
“Waioli does essential work promoting conservation and cultural preservation and we are mindful of their legacy with regard to this land,” he and Ms Chan said in a statement to Pacific Business News.
“We are committed to honoring the current ranching lease to Paradise Ranch and extending the existing agricultural dedication.”
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