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- Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg irritates his neighbors in Palo Alto as he works to expand and modify the 11 homes he purchased in the area. To ease tensions, THE New York Times says Zuckerberg gave his next-door neighbors noise-cancelling headphones as a peace offering.
Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire co-founder of Facebook and CEO of Metareportedly gave noise-canceling headphones to his neighbors in Palo Alto’s Crescent Park neighborhood in an effort to deal with years of frustration over ongoing construction and disruption surrounding his growing housing complex, according to The New York Times.
Zuckerberg has spent more than $110 million buying 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 an area dominated by construction equipment, surveillance and frequent lavish parties.
Some of these recently purchased properties remain vacant, despite being in an area known for its acute housing shortagewhile others were transformed into guest houses, lush gardens, a pickleball court, a swimming pool with a hydrofloor and, at least for a time, a private school for the children of Zuckerberg and several others (a use that does not appear to comply with local zoning ordinances).
Beneath the complex, 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 also added a 5,000 square foot underground structure to his Hawaii compound, which, he insists, is not a “doomsday bunker”.
Much of the discontent focuses on the nearly eight years of continuous construction. Several neighbors cited street blockages, debris and incessant noise as ongoing problems.
A spokesperson for Mark Zuckerberg issued the following statement to Fortune:
“Mark, Priscilla and their children have called Palo Alto home for over a decade. They enjoy being members of the community and have taken a number of steps above and beyond all local requirements to avoid any disruption to the neighborhood.”
This isn’t Zuckerberg’s first real estate controversy
Noise-canceling headphones were among many gifts given by Zuckerberg’s staff to calm neighbors during particularly noisy times, alongside bottles of sparkling wine and boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. However, these actions 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 fences and a heavy security presence, including cameras overlooking adjacent properties and frequent patrols by private security guards.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is not the first conflict between Zuckerberg and his neighbors over real estate projects. In 2016, Palo Alto officials rejected a proposal to demolish four homes and replace them with smaller homes and large basements as part of a larger complex. While the city rejected the specific request, Zuckerberg ultimately proceeded gradually, undertaking similar work in a piecemeal manner to avoid further regulatory hurdles. The Palo Alto City Council and some residents have since criticized what they describe as the city’s exploitation of zoning loopholes and regulatory inaction.
Zuckerberg’s residential portfolio extends well beyond Palo Alto. He has a 2,300-acre estate on KauaiHawaii, where its land acquisitions and construction projects have sometimes also caused local controversy. He also owns houses at Lake Tahoe and a mansion in Washington, D.C.
A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on August 26, 2025.
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