iStock-Laura Ragsdale / Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg by Anthony Quintano (CC BY)
Channeling his inner secret agent, Mark Zuckerberg's new Hawaii-based compound is top-secret and completely over-the-top with bonkers features including an underground lair and a web of treehouses in the woods surrounding the compound.
WIRED obtained plan documents and talked to a couple of insiders to uncover all of the nitty-gritty details and we've highlighted some of the most outrageous below.
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Naturally, if you're Mark Zuckerberg, if you're going to spend millions of dollars on a compound in Hawaii, you're going to make sure the thing is locked down. Not only is Zuck's compound located in vast remote ranchland on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, but the place is complete with 6-foot walls blocking it from public view.
And if you think you might be able to scale the walls in the dead of night to catch a glimpse, think again. Zuckerberg's compound is monitored by security guards who not only watch the gate but patrol the beach on ATVs for good measure.
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One does not simply build 6-foot privacy walls and hire an impressive security detail just to forget about nondisclosure agreements. Anyone involved with the project whether they're charged with construction, electrical work, security detail, or another gig must sign an NDA. And the NDA is wound up tighter than an eight-day clock.
There have been rumblings of workers being fired from the project for posting about it on social media and one former employee told WIRED, “It’s fight club. We don’t talk about fight club,” elaborating that if anyone posted anything about the project, Zuck's team would find out almost immediately. Yikes.
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WIRED reported that the compound consists of more than a dozen buildings including two central mansions which are connected by a tunnel an an underground compound (more on that later). The total square footage is close to the size of a professional football field at a whopping 57,000 square-feet. Basically, Zuckerberg will need a map to navigate his own compound. The property is littered with cameras and includes keypad-operated or soundproof doors.
The plans also indicate another building aside from the main mansions where there will be pools, a sauna, hot tub, tennis court, cold plunge, and a full-sized gym. Health and wellness is paramount at this compound. Other buildings include operations buildings and guest houses.
In doomsday prepper fashion, this expansive compound — known as Koolau Ranch — includes an underground shelter. But this isn't your average hole in the ground stocked with MREs and cobwebs. Zuck's underground lair covers 5,000 square-feet and is complete with a living space and a mechanical room. For access, there's said to be an escape hatch complete with a ladder. There are also plans for a door made with metal and filled in with concrete for extra security.
If you're wondering what the heck you fill in 57,000 square-feet of living space, buckle up. The plans to the compound viewed by WIRED show at least 30 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms. So everyone who rests their head can also rest assured they won't have to wait in line for the john no matter where they are in the floor plan. Phew.
To get around this palace, there are multiple elevators, along with an industrial-sized kitchen and a handful of office and conference rooms because, y'know, it's Mark Zuckerberg.
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Alright, we won't lie. If we had Zuckerberg's bank account and we were building a Hawaiian compound, we'd probably want some over-the-top treehouses, too. But an entire network?! Apparently, the compound includes some nearby woods where Zuck plans to construct 11 disk-shaped treehouses which will be connected by rope bridges so his treetop visitors can easily mingle with one another. Hospitality is not confined to the ground, guys.
Facebook's founder isn't out here trying to deal with a laundry list of utility bills to keep his compound up and running. According to planning documents reviewed by WIRED, the compound will be self-sufficient, including a giant water tank with a pump system and an assortment of foods already being produced among its 1,400 acres of agricultural and ranchland.
Speaking of the land, Zuckerberg's acreage is slotted to cost more money than the construction of the compound. The main construction is estimated to cost about $100 million while land purchases rack up $170 million.
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Inherently, with a construction project so large in scope and intricate in plans, this compound was bound to be the site of a handful of workplace accidents. And so it was.
There was a crane accident reported when the operator drove off a steep road and fell off the edge. Another incident involved a worker under a strict NDA who somehow wound up having a heart attack and dying on the property and as a result of the NDA, a wrongful death suit was born.
