Mark Zuckerberg is carving out a slice of paradise on Hawaii’s fourth largest island, Kauai.
Widespread reports indicate the 30-year-old Facebook billionaire has spent upwards of US $100 million for a private getaway on land once used as a sugarcane plantation and organic farm.
The Harvard dropout's Hawaiian landgrab follows suit from fellow tech billionaire Larry Ellison. The Oracle chairman and sailboat racing playboy forked out $600 million to buy the entire island of Lanai, Hawaii’s sixth largest landmass.
But this is still a comparitively large real estate deal for Zuckerberg. As The Telegraph points out, it was only in 2010 that the social network mogul was renting a modest property near the Silicon Valley Facebook HQ, where he famously churned out 16 hour work days.
Now running an immensely succesful business, "Zuck" should in theory have more time for leisure at this expansive site, which is said to include a large stretch of impressive white sandy beach.
But there’s a catch. Hawaiian state law clearly dictates there are no private beaches – they must remain open to public.
According to a statement on coastal access on the University of Hawaii website, “beaches in Hawaii are generally publicly accessible, regardless of ownership”. The same website, which relates to the university’s Sea Grant College Program, explains that public beach access on Hawaii’s islands has become an ‘increasingly controversial issue’
“Denying public access may be legal if it is occurring on private lands without a specific and dedicated public access easement. Though the laws related to public right of access are clear, not all access is public,” it went on to explain.
So, what with locals and tourists flocking to Kauai's beaches, only time will tell if the Facebook boss has any privacy complaints of his own.