this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2026
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Meta chief executive paid roughly €20m for gothic-style mansion built in 1830 and its surroundings

It stretches the definition of pied-à-terre but Mark Zuckerberg now has a pad in Ireland: Strancally castle.

The Meta chief executive and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have bought the gothic-style mansion and its 178-hectare (440-acre) estate in county Waterford to use as a base during visits to Ireland.

“Mark and his family are excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland, where Meta maintains its international headquarters,” a spokesperson said on Thursday.

The price paid in the off-market deal is not known but the Irish Times, which first reported the sale, estimated a value between €20m (£17m) and €30m: approximately 10% of the cost of his 387ft superyacht.

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[–] valar@lemmy.ca 149 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] SGGeorwell@lemmy.world 49 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Mark Zuckerberg is a life support system for cringe.

[–] Melonpoly@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

He's a monument of vaginal dryness

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[–] brem@lemmy.world 108 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Fun fact: Cromwell died from a mosquito bite during one of his campaigns in Ireland.

Dear Mosquitos, you know what to do.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Someone has proposed building a monumental statue to honor the skeeter.

[–] brem@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

I remember reading that not too long ago; which is why I know it's definitely not a problem to celebrate the mossie that killed that terrible monster.

[–] k0e3@lemmy.ca 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Mosquitos don't suck android fluid though.

[–] brem@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

It's ironic, because that robomofo sucks

[–] sealhaslupus@lemmy.world 45 points 1 week ago (4 children)

i presume this is for tax dodging?

[–] Avicenna@programming.dev 7 points 1 week ago

Don't give them so much credit, might turn out to be a very stupid idea like maybe he imagines they can survive in a castle out in the wilderness during an apocalypse.

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[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 36 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Reminder that $30m is $0.0bn, to the nearest tenth of a billion dollars. Billionaires should not exist.

[–] df0@leminal.space 33 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I really wish Ireland would stop hosting Zuckerberg's scammy ad company and all the other useless parasite corporations that hole up there.

[–] Paddzr@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (7 children)

Then Ireland fucking dies.

People really do not understand without Irrland being a tax heaven, there is no money in that country.

There's handful of decent jobs in Ireland because of it, other than that, people have no future and are forever riding on benefits. I know enough people who basically haven't held a job in 25 years. While the state shouldn't let people starve, they did get complicit and simply gave up.

I'm sure I'll get downvoted into oblivion for saying it here, lemmy loves to think everyone gets to just do nothing and get money for existing... but reality is, Ireland is fucked. Has been fucked for 20 years. They spiralled into one of the most expensive places to live with no prospects, people can't afford to start new businesses so there's less jobs going around. All the talent fucks off to UK (guess where I am?) Because we as a couple + an extra person couldn't find a place to rent after 3 months of searching. People drop year's worth of rent day 1 to secure a place (it doesn't sound like this has changed much) so we moved.

I miss home, but I'd seriously have to downgrade our lives to move back. I couldn't even dream to be able to do single income and maintain family of 3 in Ireland, even in my high paying field.

[–] Jiral@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

That is an exaggeration. While I can't comment on housing the economy is built on being a tax haven but isn't just that. There is a lot of employment in IT and Biotech and there are a lot of facilities actually based in Ireland, not just some office jobs for handling the tax evasion (that too of course).

The problem to me doesn't seem that long term unemployed aren't left to starve and die but a wrong housing policy and not even a joke of urban planning. It is what is happening when exploding real estate value is considerey a boon rather than a huge issue.

[–] Paddzr@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Those IT jobs are being culled now. There were news of Rapid7 closing down their Dublin office few weeks ago.

Intel has still decent presence, but without investment into infrastructure, where does that leave us? Not everyone can (nor should) work in IT or biotech.

How do you compete with mainland Europe when you got to ship things likely through UK and then to mainland while having one of the highest tax rates and wages in EU? Ireland hasn't got any benefits in manufacturing. There's only so much Irish beef and salmon you can sell to fuel the economy.

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[–] df0@leminal.space 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah, I absolutely understand that there are real reasons to why Ireland has become a tax haven, and thanks for adding some background here. Of course what I'm saying is that I wish Ireland would find a way to prosper without them, not that it should just kick them out and then roll over and die.

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[–] damnthefilibuster@lemmy.world 32 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I sincerely wish Mark the best of luck for his new home. I hope he spends ten, nay, hundred times as much as he paid for it, on renovating the place and making it fit for him. I hope he truly spends every dime to make this place fit for a modern king.

And then I hope he doesn’t get to live in it for a single day.

[–] 3abas@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I hope he escapes to it when the revolution kicks off, only to find the revolution is in Ireland too, and be gets hung at the doorstep.

Ahh, who am I kidding. Ireland might do it, but he'd never escape there because Americans will never revolt, they'll just elect a bunch of people who claim to be progressive and end up with the same exact party as before while patting themselves on the back.

[–] bassad@jlai.lu 6 points 1 week ago

Plus he already has a bunker in his island in Hawaii, this Ireland castle is really only for holidays

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[–] Enkrod@feddit.org 30 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Technofeudalism needs castles for the tech-barons.

[–] TheMinister@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Well, to be fair they make pillaging and plundering them much more apropros. I’d feel like a dweeb plundering in the suburbs.

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[–] architect@thelemmy.club 25 points 1 week ago

This is such a stupid life.

[–] daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

And he earned that by.... Making everyone life worse. That was his contribution to society. He fucked us all and got a castle in reward.

Oh he's got a megayacht too.

[–] WanderWisley@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago
[–] Cherry@piefed.social 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I’m sure this is what the IRA fought for. Independence.

[–] SpookyBogMonster@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 week ago

“If you remove the English Army tomorrow and hoist the green flag over Dublin Castle., unless you set about the organization of the Socialist Republic your efforts will be in vain. England will still rule you. She would rule you through her capitalists, through her landlords, through her financiers, through the whole array of commercial and individualist institutions she has planted in this country and watered with the tears of our mothers and the blood of our martyrs.”

  • James Connolly
[–] Zier@fedia.io 15 points 1 week ago

Epstein Castle, opening soon.

[–] lemmylump@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I hope it's full of fairies, banshees, and evil Alabama leprechauns.

May his days there be torture.

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[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

Fuck you Mark Zuckerberg. Just because I haven't said it yet, today.

[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (6 children)

I thought that the Irish were traditionally not too keen on foreign assholes coming over and taking their stuff?

[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

Apparently they okay with billionaires. All the while Ireland got a housing crisis.

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[–] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

One notes the absence of a goddamned data center on the property. Good enough for American backyards, not good enough for him.

May it be a curse to him.

[–] Bustedknuckles@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

30M? Chump change for him. Ireland, get a wealth tax ready just in case

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 week ago

They will absolutely not do that. Ireland has been enjoying being a corporate tax haven for many years now.

[–] blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 week ago

They will not be "caring for" the property, nor anything else. Let's be honest

[–] Sharkticon@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)
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[–] Bluegrass_Addict@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

yo people who own cropdusters...

[–] koka_noodles@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Not in Ireland

[–] uen3@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 week ago

Fetchez la vache!

[–] yonderbarn@lazysoci.al 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Walks around saying

"King of the castle"

"King of the castle"

[–] OldChicoAle@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Build a datacenter right next to it. /s

[–] Prior_Industry@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

I wonder how constrained he will be by planning laws.

[–] oce@jlai.lu 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

He's going to build some evil rocket based machine under one of those towers. Once it reaches orbit, it would steal everyone's, except his, personal information at once, to accomplish his super vilain dream of the complete destruction of privacy.
Our only hope is a nerd/pirate/trans/furry/tankie elite commando from the Fediverse to arrive at the last minute and make his evil scheme fail, with some fireworks at the end.
Candidatures are open, please bring attack plans suggestions.

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