- Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has been rankling his neighbors in Palo Alto as he works on expanding and modifying the 11 homes that he has purchased in the area. To smooth over tensions, the New York Times says Zuckerberg gifted his next-door neighbors noise-canceling headphones as a peace offering.
Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire cofounder of Facebook and CEO of Meta, reportedly gave noise-canceling headphones to his neighbors in the Crescent Park neighborhood of Palo Alto in an effort to address years of frustration over ongoing construction and disruption surrounding his expanding residential compound, according to the New York Times.
Zuckerberg has spent more than $110 million purchasing at least 11 homes on Edgewood Drive and Hamilton Avenue over the past 14 years, transforming this once-idyllic neighborhood of lawyers, business executives, and Stanford University professors into a zone dominated by construction equipment, surveillance, and frequent lavish parties.
Some of these properties that were recently purchased sit unoccupied, despite being in a region known for its acute housing shortage, while others have been converted into guest homes, lush gardens, a pickleball court, a pool with a hydrofloor, and—at least for a time—a private school for Zuckerberg’s children and several others (a use that appears not to comply with local zoning ordinances).
Underneath the compound, Zuckerberg added 7,000 square feet of space described as “basements,” which to area residents are more akin to “bunkers” or a “billionaire’s bat cave.” Zuckerberg similarly added a 5,000-square-foot underground structure to his compound in Hawaii, which he insists is not a “doomsday bunker.”
Much of the discontent centers on the nearly eight years of continual construction. Several neighbors cited street blockages, debris, and relentless noise as ongoing issues.
A spokesperson for Mark Zuckerberg provided the following statement to Fortune:
“Mark, Priscilla and their children have made Palo Alto their home for more than a decade. They value being members of the community and have taken a number of steps above and beyond any local requirements to avoid disruption in the neighborhood.”
Not Zuckerberg’s first property controversy
The noise-canceling headphones were among several gifts extended by Zuckerberg’s staff to appease neighbors during particularly loud periods, along with bottles of sparkling wine and boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. These gestures, however, have not always been effective. Some of his neighbors say their community has been transformed—and not in a good way—by absentee ownership, strict privacy barriers, and heavy security presence, including cameras overlooking adjacent properties and frequent patrols by private security guards.
Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is not Zuckerberg’s first clash with neighbors over real estate projects. In 2016, Palo Alto officials rejected a proposal to demolish four homes and replace them with smaller houses and large basements as part of a wider compound. While the city denied the specific application, Zuckerberg ultimately proceeded gradually, undertaking similar work in a piecemeal fashion to avoid further regulatory hurdles. The Palo Alto City Council and some residents have since criticized what they describe as the exploitation of zoning loopholes and the city’s regulatory inaction.
Zuckerberg’s residential portfolio extends far beyond Palo Alto. He owns a 2,300-acre estate in Kauai, Hawaii, where his land acquisitions and building plans have at times provoked local controversy as well. He also owns homes at Lake Tahoe and a mansion in Washington, D.C.
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
