“Won’t you be my neighbor?” …is not a question Mark Zuckerberg gets asked very often (by land or sea). Nevertheless, he persists. In March, Zuck sunk $170 million on a mansion that sits on Florida’s infamous Billionaire Bunker island. (You know, the place where Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sánchez are being snubbed for membership in the local country club, good times.) This marked his fifth forever home, joining pads in Palo Alto, Lake Tahoe, Washington, DC, and Kauai. I thought Zuck might cool it on the real estate portfolio for a minute, what with Meta being sued right and left, most times found guilty, and in one instance ordered to pay half a billion dollars in fines. Hahaha, silly me, Zuck just bought the 200-year-old gothic-style Strancally Castle in Waterford County, Ireland. Why did he buy an Irish castle? Because someone beat him to Dracula’s castle in Romania, I presume. It was a private sale, but The Irish Times estimates Strancally is worth around $23 to $35 million. The New York Times dug up further details on the stately abode:
Around the middle of the 19th century, the estate was valued at 61 pounds, according to an entry about the castle in a University of Galway archive of landed estates that also mentions it contained an art collection and a library.
“Mark and his family look forward to caring for this historic home and visiting when traveling to Ireland,” said Brian Baker, the spokesman for Mr. Zuckerberg.
The castle was built for a former member of Parliament, John Keily, according to Ireland’s National Built Heritage Service, which describes the building as both “muscular” and “dour.”
The estate has never left private hands, leaving the public to glimpse its interior only in historical archives. An entry about Mr. Keily in “The History of Parliament” website says the house was designed “on a lavish scale; it took a brisk walk of 4½ minutes to reach the dining room from the kitchen.”
The castle was most recently owned by Michael Alen-Buckley, the chairman of the investment firm RAB Capital, and his wife, Giancarla Alen-Buckley, a member of the family behind the luxury Rocco Forte Hotels group.
“We leave our home of twenty-five years fondly and are grateful for the opportunity we have been given to save and restore Strancally Castle,” the couple said in a statement. “We are delighted that Mark and his family intend to build on our stewardship by continuing to invest in maintaining and enhancing the property and grounds as their home.”
It is not clear how much time Mr. Zuckerberg or his family (he has three daughters with his wife, Priscilla Chan) will spend in Ireland, but his company has a significant presence there.
Like many major U.S. companies, Meta uses an office in Dublin as its European headquarters, and about 1,500 employees work there. Ireland has become a hub for multinational corporations, both for its relatively low corporate income tax rate, 15 percent for big companies, and its history of allowing corporations to shift profits out of the country into places like Bermuda, Grand Cayman and the Isle of Man.
Ireland’s status as a base for several technological giants has made it a key player in enforcing European Union regulations and, increasingly, a center of protest against the companies and their data centers.
Asked for comment about Mr. Zuckerberg’s purchase, the Waterford City and County Council extolled the area’s attractions — wild coastlines and mountains, picturesque festivals and towns — and the history of the county and city.
“Founded by the Vikings in 914 AD, Waterford is Ireland’s Oldest City that has been shaped by centuries of history and today it is evident that the county’s remarkable architecture keeps its past vividly present,” the council said in an email.
Mark Zuckerberg bought a castle described as “muscular” and “dour,” you say? That’s ridiculous — he belongs in a castle that’s “wiry” and “dour,” good grief! Though I’m sure living there makes the residents muscular, if they’re regularly walking a “brisk” 4½ minutes from the kitchen to the dining room. What a nightmare for serving! But this whole acquisition made sense once the NY Times started spelling out how Dublin is a corporation’s paradise. Waterford is only two hours away by car, under an hour by billionaire’s private jet. I just hope he doesn’t wreak too much havoc on the historic place. (What?! A girl can hope!!) Not only is Waterford the oldest city in Ireland, it’s the Waterford of Waterford Crystal! On the other hand, I have every faith that the bold and beautiful people of Ireland could stage an impressive, colorful show of protest that I’d actually love to witness. The Crystal Decanter Rebellion of 2026!
Photos credit: BFA.com/Backgrid
I hadn’t heard of Strancally Castle until Zuck bought it. However it is a lovely part of the country. Near Lismore Castle, owned by the Duke of Devonshire, and the Irish speaking district “An Rinn” (or Ring in English).
By Irish standards though, Strancally is just a bit too far to be doing a daily car commute to Dublin; it is more like 3 hours each way, as the castle is in west county Waterford near the border with Cork, rather than the city. I guess he’ll be taking the chopper! 🙂
The distance is what’s attractive to Mark, he’s buying places he can escape to, places he can build up and use as a compound. He has doomsday bunkers spread over the world – to diversify the location.
Here’s a fun read: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/23/tech-industry-wealth-futurism-transhumanism-singularity
Ooh that’s interesting!
He has a good location then… rural part of Ireland, near a river. Properties like that almost always come with decent sized orchards and vegetable patches.
cws thanks for that link. Although from 2018 it’s still very current and the facts we all need to take in. I’ve already forwarded it and bookmarked for a reread or two—it’s dense truth!
Garron, who’s delicious and my favorite Irish creator and a wonderful musician, says nobody wants Bucklebert there.
I’m sure he and his wife will ruin that beautiful castle and the land it sits upon.
The tumour is spreading.
Is it wrong I hope he doesn’t test the water? Because Crystal required for many years lead and if Waterford hasn’t taken active steps to fix it well…
Also you just know he’s going to make this historic castle look like a grey empty box.
What did Ireland do to deserve him?
Maybe he wants to apply for Irish citizenship later? 🤔
Ireland is a rather shady little tax haven, allowing the world’s multinational companies Meta, Apple, Google, et al, to incorporate there and pay far less tax than they would in their home countries. The EU is cracking down, which led to Apple having to pay Ireland $17 billion due to illegal tax loopholes that Ireland had granted them.
I hate when terrible people get to live out my dreams.
Thanks for ruining my favorite place, Mark