Mark Zuckerberg is trying to gain some goodwill with his neighbors after years of ongoing construction surrounding the 11 homes he bought in the Crescent Park neighborhood of Palo Alto for more than $110 million. The Facebook co-founder has snapped up homes on Edgewood Drive and Hamilton Avenue over the past 14 years, turning them into a residential compound for him and his family, including his wife, Priscilla Chan, and their three daughters: Maxima, August, and Aurelia.
According to the New York Times, billionaire Mark gave noise-canceling headphones to his neighbors in an effort to minimize their frustrations over the relentless noise caused by continual construction. Several neighbors reportedly also cited street blockages, debris, construction equipment, surveillance, and even lavish parties as ongoing issues.
© Zuffa LLCHis neighbors alleged that their community has been transformed for the worse because of strict privacy barriers and a heavy security presence, including cameras overlooking adjacent properties and frequent patrols by private security guards.
It's not just noise-canceling headphones that Mark has purchased to try and appease his frustrated neighbours. His staff has also reportedly handed out bottles of sparkling wine and boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts during particularly loud periods.
While some of the properties Mark purchased currently sit empty, others have been converted into guest homes, a pickleball court, a pool with a hydrofloor, lush gardens, and, at one time, a private school for his children and several others.
© Chris UngerIt's not just the homes that are forming Mark's new compound. There are also "basements" underneath the land, which boast seven thousand square feet of space, which his neighbors refer to as "bunkers" or a "billionaire's bat cave."
© Getty ImagesMark has a very impressive real estate portfolio, including a 2,300-acre estate in Kauai, Hawaii, where he added a five-thousand-square-foot underground structure, which he insists is not a "doomsday bunker." He also has homes at Lake Tahoe and in Washington, D.C.
Family life
© InstagramMark and Priscilla married in May 2012 after 10 years of dating. The couple met in 2003 at the Meta CEO's Harvard University fraternity when he was a sophomore and she was a freshman. They surprised their loved ones with a wedding in their Palo Alto backyard after guests believed they were attending a party to celebrate Priscilla's graduation from UCSF medical school.
© InstagramThey are now parents to their three daughters after years of trying and three miscarriages, and Mark loves being a "girl dad." Mark previously admitted that becoming a dad "changed my perspective a lot." He told People: "We actually had a few miscarriages before having Max, so at the time we actually knew that we were going to have her, we were just so happy that it's like, 'Okay, we think that she's going to be healthy and is going to come.'"
