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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[–] 147 points 2 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 107 points 2 months ago (4 children)

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

    Dear Mosquitos, you know what to do.

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  • [–] 35 points 2 months ago*

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

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  • [–] 33 points 2 months ago (9 children)

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

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  • [–] 13 points 2 months ago (8 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.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 months ago* (2 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.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    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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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    As far as I know logistic lines have adapted post Brexit and are avoiding the UK nowaday, stuff doesn't have to leave the Single Market on the way to other parts of it. Ireland may be on the edge of the continent bit I wouldn't call it remote. It is as close to the "Blue Banana" as Central Europe for example.

    Correct me if I am wrong but the IT cuts are not limited to Ireland but happening globally in the sector, partially due to over expansion during covid and thecurrent AI bubble.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    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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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    I touched on this more in my other comment, Ireland has too many disadvantages to prosper. Mainland Europe has cheaper labour, doesn't got to cross the Irish sea then the English channel to get goods in and with tax rates this high? Not much left on the table.

    I do feel like there's no "out" in this.

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  • [–] 32 points 2 months ago (3 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.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 24 points 2 months ago

    This is such a stupid life.

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  • [–] 23 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 44 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    i presume this is for tax dodging?

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 8 points 2 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    Well it's not the same as like keeping your residence in Monaco by being there just over 180 days a year to pay 0% income tax or something, Ireland still has tax. They just have lower tax because that gets them more tax income as it's beneficial to have your EU or even international HQ in Ireland.

    Tax optimization is a better term, because tax avoidance or dodging usually implies doing something illegal whereas Meta quite literally does have a physical HQ in Ireland.

    Also in Ireland they have to pay every year they make profit as far as I know, whereas in Estonia for example they'd only have to pay tax on dividends and salaries, not profits. Meta pays a really tiny dividend so they'd essentially go untaxed on corporate income. Catch is, if they eventually DO want to pay a large dividend, they'd be paying the 22/78 income tax here (it's called 22%, but since it's 22% of the gross, but calculated on the net, it's actually 28% or something, I don't wanna math right now).

    Point being, they're actually still paying a lot more tax than they could legally be paying, while still staying in the EU.

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  • [–] 16 points 2 months ago
    [–] 15 points 2 months ago* (1 child)

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

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  • [–] 7 points 2 months 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
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  • [–] 15 points 2 months ago

    Epstein Castle, opening soon.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 child)

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

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  • [–] 14 points 2 months ago (1 child)

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

    May his days there be torture.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 months ago

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

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  • [–] 11 points 2 months 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.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    yo people who own cropdusters...

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago

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

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  • [–] 8 points 2 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago

    Fetchez la vache!

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago

    Build a datacenter right next to it. /s

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago (1 child)

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

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months 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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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago

    I wonder how constrained he will be by planning laws.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago*

    Walks around saying

    "King of the castle"

    "King of the castle"

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    i just think it's funny a castle costs 10% of a superyacht.

    shows you how much these people matter on a historical scale. he's flexing on us but pretty fucking lame compared to billionaires in 2346 who'd have megaships travelling through the cosmos.

    take a moment to laugh at this loser. have fun in your castle while you check your smartphone on the toilet, asshole. i can do that in pissant suburbia.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago

    Rosie O'Donnell just can't get away from this american largesse.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    It’s gonna be guarded by 100 of those new Chinese Kung-Fu robots. A few of them will mow the lawns and maybe milk a cow.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    go get him, rosie, go get him good.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    Why is this world news. Who cares.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    The Man in the High Castle

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 0 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

    BUILD A NEW CASTLE YOU CHEAP LAZY FUCK.

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