The hidden cost of living amid Mark Zuckerberg's $110M compound

Mark Zuckerberg’s Palo Alto Compound: A Closer Look

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has been making waves in his leafy Palo Alto neighborhood for the past 14 years. According to a recent report by The New York Times, Zuckerberg has acquired a total of 11 properties, spending over $110 million to create his own personal fiefdom in Crescent Park.

The sprawling compound includes a main residence, guest homes, meticulously manicured gardens, and even a pickleball court. One of the standout features is a pool with a movable hydrofloor that can transform the swimming area into a dance floor. But perhaps the most eye-catching element is a seven-foot statue of Zuckerberg’s wife, Priscilla Chan, adorned in flowing silver robes.

However, beneath the surface of this suburban paradise lies a secret: 7,000 square feet of underground space that neighbors have nicknamed “the billionaire bat cave.” Additionally, one of the homes on the property operates as a private school for 14 children, a clear violation of city zoning codes that has seemingly gone unnoticed by local officials, as per the Times report.

Despite the luxurious amenities and extravagant displays, the construction and expansion of Zuckerberg’s compound have not been without controversy. Longtime residents have voiced complaints about years of construction noise, blocked driveways, and an abundance of surveillance cameras. Neighbor Michael Kieschnick expressed his dissatisfaction, stating, “No neighborhood wants to be occupied, but that’s exactly what they’ve done.”

On a more positive note, Zuckerberg’s staff has made efforts to extend olive branches to the community, offering gestures of goodwill such as wine, donuts, and noise-canceling headphones. These small acts of kindness may help to alleviate some of the tensions that have arisen from the presence of Zuckerberg’s sprawling estate in the neighborhood.

See also Eliminating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Medicaid My Administration has been relentlessly committed to rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in Government programs to preserve and protect them for those who rely most on them. The Medicaid program was designed to be a program to compassionately provide taxpayer dollars to healthcare providers who offer care to the most vulnerable Americans. To keep payments reasonable, billable costs for such care were historically capped at the same level that healthcare providers could receive from Medicare. The State and Federal Governments jointly shared this cost burden to ensure those of lesser means did not go untreated. Under the Biden Administration, States and healthcare providers were permitted to game the system. For example, States "taxed" healthcare providers, but sent the same money back to them in the form of a "Medicaid payment," which automatically unlocked for healthcare providers an additional "burden-sharing" payment from the Federal Government. Through this gimmick, the State could avoid contributing money toward Medicaid services, meaning the State no longer had a reason to be prudent in the amount of reimbursement provided. Instead of paying Medicare rates, many States that utilize these arrangements now pay the same healthcare providers almost three times the Medicare amount, a practice encouraged by the Biden Administration. These State Directed Payments have rapidly accelerated, quadrupling in magnitude over the last 4 years and reaching $110 billion in 2024 alone. This trajectory threatens the Federal Treasury and Medicaid's long-term stability, and the imbalance between Medicaid and Medicare patients threatens to jeopardize access to care for our seniors. I pledged to protect and improve these important Government healthcare programs for those that rely on them. Seniors on Medicare and Medicaid recipients both deserve access to quality care in a system free from the fraud, waste, and abuse, that enriches the unscrupulous and jeopardizes the programs themselves. We will take action to continue to love and cherish the Medicare and Medicaid programs to ensure they are preserved for those who need them most. The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall therefore take appropriate action to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid, including by ensuring Medicaid payments rates are not higher than Medicare, to the extent permitted by applicable law. This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. DONALD J. TRUMP