Zuckerberg’s land is expanding and native Hawaiians are concerned. Photo: Karsten Winegeart
In 2025, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg quietly expanded his massive Kauai compound with a 962-acre purchase – his largest on the island since buying his first plot in 2014. New reports reveal the land includes a burial ground, fueling local concerns about how many graves it holds and the broader issue of billionaires buying up large portions of the Hawaiian islands.
A July Wired article revealed the scope of the new $65 million purchase near Pilaa Beach, expanding Zuckerberg’s Kauai holdings from more than 1,400 acres to 2,300. The report also confirmed at least two burial sites on the property, near the former home of Julian Ako’s great-grandfather — land Ako was able to visit after months of dialogue with Zuckerberg’s team. The graves belong to his great-grandmother and her brother. Additional remains are likely buried there, but Ako fears they may never be found due to the compound’s extreme privacy.
Zuckerberg is building a $300-million compound on the site, adjacent to his existing developments. According to Wired, the property already features two mansions that are the size of a football field, a gym, a tennis court, guest houses, ranch buildings, treehouses, a water system, and a tunnel that leads into an underground shelter with blast-resistant doors and an escape hatch. The entire site can comfortably house an estimated 100 people.
Puali‘i Rossi, professor of Native Hawaiian studies at Kauai Community College, thinks the proliferation of billionaire land grabs is reason for concern.
“If our island has any hope of remaining Hawaii, this kind of activity has got to stop,” Rossi told Wired. “Eventually Hawaii isn’t going to look like Hawaii anymore – it’s going to be a resort community. Are we really thinking about 100 years from now, what this island is going to look like?”
Zuckerberg first entered Kauai in 2014 with a 700-acre purchase of land, filing lawsuits to obtain the rights to “kuleana land” – traditional Hawaiian rights to access land for resources. He dropped the lawsuit after public pressure mounted, but eventually obtained the land via a kuleana descendant who, some believe, was backed by Zuckerberg.
Billionaires buying up Hawaiian land is a trend that goes beyond Zuckerberg. Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos and Oprah Winfrey own swaths of land on Maui. Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff owns chunks of land on the Big Island. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison owns nearly the entire island of Lanai.
Zuckerberg’s team counters criticism of his increasing footprint on Hawaii by saying their purchase of the land canceled the previous owner’s plans to build 80 luxury homes. Now, they say, the land is mostly used productively for farming, ranching, and conservation. Additionally, Zuckerberg has given millions to local nonprofits, building a charter school and affordable housing on the island. They also stress they are bound by law to inform authorities if additional graves are found on the property.
