Zuckerburg buys a stately pleasure dome

Mark Zuckerberg - WikimedaIt seems that all empire builders at some point have a crack at building their personal Xanadu, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg is no different.

He has written a cheque for a 357-acre beachfront plantation on the island of Kauai in Hawaii — a space zoned for 80 well-appointed homes.

According to Pacific Business News, Zuckerberg dropped $66 million on Kahuaina Plantation on the northeast corner of Kauai. The estate is billed as one of the last large beachfront parcels on the rainforest-filled island, “a vast and pristine oceanfront property that offers the rare opportunity to create a stewardship to last for generations,” according to its brochure.

The property has all necessary permits, a wide variety of development options, and access to nearly 2,500 feet of white sand beach. Zuckerberg will have 27 acres to grow “organic crops including ginger, turmeric and papaya” if he should want it.

Of course this is not as good as Larry Ellison who bought pretty much all of the island of Lana’i in June 2012, but then Ellison has got pots more money than Zuckerburg.  On the other hand Ellison is 70 years old and Zuckerburg has more time to catch up.

Of course neither Ellison or Zuckerburg can match Bill Gates who never bothered creating Xanadu for him and his rich chums, but gave it all up to help humanity survive and Olivia Newton John is not involved.