In an era of economic uncertainty and rising populism, it could be considered prudent for the super-rich to hide, or at the very least downplay, their wealth.
Lording it over the masses at a time of political volatility has backfired on elites in the past so some restraint might be advised.
Mark Zuckerberg, however, has a $100 million apocalypse-proof bunker in Hawaii, perhaps explaining why he has no hesitation in flaunting his latest business venture.
The Facebook founder, who according to Forbes is worth $130 billion, has revealed his goal of creating “some of the highest quality beef in the world” with a herd of cattle at his ranch on the island of Kauai.
Zuckerberg has been feeding his Wagyu and Angus cattle macadamia nuts and beer, which some experts say is a nutritious supplement to a cow’s diet.
Both the nuts and the beer are produced at Zuckerberg’s 1,400-acre ranch, which critics have compared to a Bond villain compound.
“We want the whole process to be local and vertically integrated,” Zuckerberg said of his quest to produce world-class beef. “Each cow eats 5,000 to 10,000lb of food each year, so that’s a lot of acres of macadamia trees.”
The Facebook founder, 39, said his three daughters, aged eight, six and nine months, had been helping to take care of the cattle and plant the macadamia trees.
“We’re still early in the journey and it’s fun improving on it every season,” Zuckerberg said on Instagram, a platform he owns. “Of all my projects, this is the most delicious.”
Zuckerberg shared a picture from a recent dinner, showing himself about to tuck into one of his homegrown steaks.
The comments section beneath the post was filled with angry vegans.
Peta, the animal rights group, said: “Please stick to technology. Every animal is someone. This ‘project’ is killing animals and the planet and is traumatising for your kids. There are so many other productive things to do, like creating innovative vegan foods that save animals, help the planet and improve human health.”
Cows and other livestock emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Environmentalists say that cattle are a major source of emissions and the global beef industry is contributing to global warming.
Zuckerberg’s herd are part of his attempts to be self-sufficient on his Hawaii compound.
He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, began buying land in Hawaii in 2014 and have reportedly spent $170 million on 1,400 acres — over the objections of locals. They are since said to have spent a further $100 million constructing the compound.
The project had been shrouded in secrecy but Wired magazine reported in December that the property had its own food and energy sources — apparently now confirmed by Zuckerberg.
News of a 5,000 sq ft underground bunker, complete with a door made of metal and concrete, commonly used on bomb shelters, led to speculation that Zuckerberg was preparing for the worst.
A spokesperson for the Zuckerbergs said last month that the family was dedicated to preserving the national beauty of Kauai, the fourth largest island in the Hawaiian chain. “Under their care, less than 1 per cent of the overall land is developed, with the vast majority dedicated to farming, ranching, conservation, open spaces and wildlife preservation.”
Zuckerberg’s interests away from Meta include mixed-martial arts. In November he announced he had suffered a serious knee injury while training for a competitive fight, which had been scheduled to take place early this year.
Zuckerberg had said he was open to a fight with Elon Musk but the battle of the billionaires has yet to take place.
Billionaires and their playgrounds
Zuckerberg is far from the first titan of Silicon Valley to nurture bizarre hobbies (Peter Chappell writes).
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has invested $42 million in a mechanical clock destined to tell the time for the next 10,000 years from deep inside a Texan mountain. The Clock of Long Time will tick once a year; the century hand will advance once every 100 years and a cuckoo will sound at the millennium. It will stand 500ft tall and use the Earth’s thermal cycles for power.
Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft who was worth $20.3 billion at the time of his death in 2018, enjoyed the ability to launch deep-sea investigations from his superyacht with a luxury yellow submarine named Pagoo. The vessel was 40ft long, cost $12 million to build and fit eight passengers. “It turns out if you go 1,000ft down in the ocean, it’s really dark and the animals are really strange,” Allen said. “But if you put on some Pink Floyd, it’s fantastic.”
Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, has invested millions in anti-aging research that aims to make “90 the new 50 by 2030”; it is claimed that he plans to be cryogenically frozen upon his death and revived when technology allows.