Mark Zuckerberg Had Illegal School at His Palo Alto Compound. Neighbors Revolted
60 comments
·November 6, 2025randycupertino
lateforwork
My favorite part of that story:
He said a security guard approached him and asked what he was doing.
“I said, ‘I’m standing on the sidewalk looking at this project for review.’ He said, ‘Well, we’d appreciate it if you could move on,’” Mr. Baltay recalled. “I was pretty shocked by that. It’s a public sidewalk!”
Zuckerberg could have built a fancy house in Woodside or Atherton which is where billionaire CEOs live. Instead he bought property in the middle of regular people and disrupted their lives.
bonestamp2
I assume he's planning to build a super mansion once he gets enough acreage.
Reminds me of a guy near me who bought three already massive adjacent properties. Tore down two of them. One become a pond. The other one was rebuilt into a massive $30M mansion. The third was already a $15M mansion so he kept that as his guest house. The funny thing is that his guest house... has a guest house.
kcplate
If I am visiting with my mother in law, I would consider the host very gracious and attentive to all the needs of his guests.
burnt-resistor
Billionaire entitlement is just one of the problems afflicting the morbid wealthy. Most of them demonstrate a total lack of empathy and utter contempt for the rest of humanity.
goatlover
We see that with Trump's second presidency. The WH ballroom, Gatsby party while during shutdown while withholding SNAP emergency funds, all the deals for corporations and billionaires, tariffs, pardons, etc.
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trhway
>Zuckerberg could have built a fancy house in Woodside or Atherton which is where billionaire CEOs live. Instead he bought property in the middle of regular people and disrupted their lives.
it is easier and safer to have illegal school and other unpermitted things and all the noise and street blocking and all the other disruptions where regular people live than to piss off a billionaire neighbor.
akd
ROFL. The neighbors are not "regular people" for any reasonable definition of that term.
googlryas
He purchased each plot for between $5 and $15M. The article describes the residents as "Doctors, lawyers, business executives and Stanford University professors".
I would not call these "regular people"
afavour
OP didn't say "working class people". Doctors and lawyers are plenty regular people.
16bytes
Doctors, lawyers, business executives are closer to "regular people" than those people are to billionaires.
UltraSane
Doctors and lawyers are extremely regular people.
renewiltord
Lol "snatched up". I'm told that Zuckerberg came in the night with three of his best confederates and just stole the deed. The government couldn't do anything because when lawyers tried to get it back Zuckerberg just said "The Bible says 'the mark shall inherit the Earth' and I am The Mark". Powerless against the Gospel of Mark, California had to kneel.
avidiax
Presumably, when these people bought their homes, they felt they'd be able to live with a relatively continuous sense of community, not feel forced to sell as a billionaire's compound encroached on them.
There's an assumption that these homeowners are getting bought out above market, but what's the market rate for a multi-million dollar home next to the perpetual construction and noise of a billionaire's fife, on a street where an increasing number of homes are being bought out and lay vacant? And why would the property team not negotiate any sale somewhat aggressively?
renewiltord
That was actually the California government’s argument: “When someone buys a house they also instantly get sale approval rights to all houses near them.” But Mark said “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s home” and the atheists were struck dumb by His power.
Today, we all live under the watchful Eye of Mark as He targets ads to us from His compound in the Bay Area. Some say they feel a light itching at the nape of their neck even thousands of miles away as Mark turns His gaze to them, but it’s an illusion: He uses software so His gaze is everywhere.
jameslk
Zuck vs Bay Area NIMBYs… this is going to be a tough one to pick a side on
happytoexplain
It's OK to care about what's going on around your home and in your community. "NIMBY" is usually meant to imply that they are being unreasonable in their complaints.
jeffrallen
Why not both? ¯ \ _ ( ツ ) _ / ¯
enahs-sf
Given his wealth, this just feels lazy and unimaginative. Running a secret illegal school, okay, I get that. But getting caught up on the drop off and pick up? How does he not just build a secret tunnel entrance?
didip
I don't get why he insist on doing what he want there. He could have way more land and privacy by living deeper inland, like Portola Valley or west of Saratoga. But still within spitting distance to civilization.
stevoski
The more I hear about this Zuckerberg character, the less I like him.
siliconc0w
IMO past like 1k sqft per person living at the address, the property tax should be exponential.
kawfey
I’m more confused why would he start a school in the first place…
akd
This is how jealousy and regular ol' misanthropy manifests itself in the suburban biome
renewiltord
It's the Bay Area. Your neighbours will revolt if you decide to grill a steak without getting a permit. They're all 80 year old ancients who've decided that children are the great evil. In Berkeley, they tried to get student housing banned under the idea that the students cause pollution. Nice one.
But it does illustrate a point: most people are enthusiastic supporters of rich NIMBYs. They'll complain about this and that but in the end they're enthusiastic supporters of rich NIMBYs.
jjulius
This isn't an accurate picture of the Bay Area I just left after residing in for five years. It's almost like you're only familiar with one corner of it.
JuniperMesos
I've lived in the bay area my entire life this is an accurate picture.
panzagl
It is an accurate picture of Boulder though...
jjulius
"They're all 80 year old ancients" is an "accurate picture" of a place where the median age is 28 and only 3% are actually that old?[1]
[1]https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US0807850-boulder-c...
renewiltord
Historic. Parking. Lots.
jjulius
That. Clarifies. Nothing. And. This. Isn't. A. Constructive. Way. To. Respond.
dmix
> For almost a decade, the Zuckerbergs’ neighbors have been complaining to the city about noisy construction work, the intrusive presence of private security, and the hordes of staffers and business associates causing traffic and taking up street parking.
Sounds like a normal day in the city
samtp
Do you actually consider this neighborhood in Palo Alto a city?
DANmode
Not my city.
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carodgers
Imagine being so sure of your right to rule over other humans that you make a school illegal.
randycupertino
I think it's more that he disregarded residential zoning and opened a school for 30 kids, with a full docket of “residential support staff” including “childcare, culinary, personal assistants, property management, and security" without any permits.
If your next door neighbor opened a 30+ person school or other large business next to your property without any permits and against what your neighborhood was zoned for you might not be happy.
bnchrch
Zoning on average is a blight.
Industrial / High Rise is the only thing that should need permitting.
Fourplex / Duplex / Single Family / Small Offices / Schools should not.
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exe34
Nobody made a school illegal. Schools have to meet certain standards, whether educational or planning.
SilverElfin
Suddenly all the YIMBY people are upset just because it’s Zuck.
riskable
Imagine being so sure you can do whatever TF you want that you ignore the law and build a school where one is not allowed to be built.
wmichelin
How does this hurt you if your kids don't go there?
bartvk
It doesn't hurt me personally but the article opens with the sentence "Neighbors complained about noise, security guards, and hordes of traffic. An unlicensed school named after the Zuckerbergs’ pet chicken tipped them over the edge."
fecal_henge
Some people have the capacity to think something is wrong even if they are not affected.
riskable
Seriously? Beyond the unaccounted safety and traffic situation, you've obviously never lived next to a school. Kids are loud AF!
I lived right behind an elementary school (playgound was kitty-corner to my fence) two houses ago. During recess and lunch time, the kids were so loud I had to shout to hear people next to me inside my house.
...but forget all that: What you're advocating for is lawlessness. If you don't like the law, lobby to change it! Don't just violate it and screw over your neighbors in the mean time.
Psillisp
Good fences make good neighbors
exe34
When billionaires break the law, we all suffer. I'll let you try to figure out why. you seem like a smart chap.
somanyphotons
Kids will slam car doors at dropoff/pickup. It's pretty annoying. I used to live around the corner from a school and parents would use our street for it. They can also cause unexpected heavy traffic if they have some special event.
ashtonshears
Weird take; Mark is literally a ruler, and the people are defending against his right to enforce his own rules??
My favorite Mark Zuckerberg neighbor anecdote is the guy who is surrounded on 3 sides by all properties Zuckerberg snatched up however has refused multiple offers by Zuckerberg's "people:" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/us/mark-zuckerberg-palo-a...