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Maui
“The Valley Isle”
The second largest island ...
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March 16, 2024 - March 22, 2024
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Maui
“The Valley Isle”
The second largest island ...
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March 16, 2024 - March 22, 2024
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The 8 Islands of Hawaii
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/what-are-the-eight-islands-of-hawaii/21611/
The 8 Islands of Hawaii
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/what-are-the-eight-islands-of-hawaii/21611/
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1. Hawaii
“The Big Island”Also known as “The Big Island,” Hawaii Island is over 4,000 square miles and encompasses 63 percent of the Hawaiian archipelago’s combined landmass and is the largest island in the United States. The island has five volcanoes, including sacred dormant volcano Mauna Kea.
2. Kahoolawe
“The Target Isle”The smallest island, Kahoolawe was used by the United States military during World War II. Today, the island is still prohibited to the public.
3. Kauai
“The Garden Isle”The third largest island of Kauai, known as “The Garden Isle,” earns its name for its lush foliage, valleys and jungles. With lots of precipitation and undeveloped land, nature flourishes, making it home to several botanical gardens.
4. Lanai
“The Pineapple Isle”Lanai once produced 75 percent of the world’s exported pineapples.
5. Maui
“The Valley Isle”The second largest island, Maui is divided by two mountain ranges—the Haleakala and West Maui Mountains. Maui is well known for its tourist attractions, such as Haleakala National Park and the Road to Hana.
6. Molokai
“The Enlightening Isle” or “The Friendly Isle”Molokai has the highest percentage of native Hawaiians and is believed to be where the hula began. It is known under several names by the local population: Molokaʻi ʻĀina Momona (land of abundance), Molokaʻi Pule Oʻo (powerful prayer) and Molokaʻi Nui A Hina (of the goddess Hina). It has also been called “The Friendly Isle.”
7. Niihau
“The Forbidden Isle”With a population of roughly 200 people, the island of Niihau has become known as “The Forbidden Isle.”
8. Oahu
“The Gathering Place”Oahu has the highest population count in the state and is home to the majority of Hawaiian residents. The island is home to the city of Honolulu, Hawaii’s state capital.
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1. Hawaii
“The Big Island”Also known as “The Big Island,” Hawaii Island is over 4,000 square miles and encompasses 63 percent of the Hawaiian archipelago’s combined landmass and is the largest island in the United States. The island has five volcanoes, including sacred dormant volcano Mauna Kea.
2. Kahoolawe
“The Target Isle”The smallest island, Kahoolawe was used by the United States military during World War II. Today, the island is still prohibited to the public.
3. Kauai
“The Garden Isle”The third largest island of Kauai, known as “The Garden Isle,” earns its name for its lush foliage, valleys and jungles. With lots of precipitation and undeveloped land, nature flourishes, making it home to several botanical gardens.
4. Lanai
“The Pineapple Isle”Lanai once produced 75 percent of the world’s exported pineapples.
5. Maui
“The Valley Isle”The second largest island, Maui is divided by two mountain ranges—the Haleakala and West Maui Mountains. Maui is well known for its tourist attractions, such as Haleakala National Park and the Road to Hana.
6. Molokai
“The Enlightening Isle” or “The Friendly Isle”Molokai has the highest percentage of native Hawaiians and is believed to be where the hula began. It is known under several names by the local population: Molokaʻi ʻĀina Momona (land of abundance), Molokaʻi Pule Oʻo (powerful prayer) and Molokaʻi Nui A Hina (of the goddess Hina). It has also been called “The Friendly Isle.”
7. Niihau
“The Forbidden Isle”With a population of roughly 200 people, the island of Niihau has become known as “The Forbidden Isle.”
8. Oahu
“The Gathering Place”Oahu has the highest population count in the state and is home to the majority of Hawaiian residents. The island is home to the city of Honolulu, Hawaii’s state capital.
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Lahaina
Front Street Walking Tour
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Consider Supporting Citizen Reporting of the Truth on Maui
Visit http://www.TruthMaui.com
Brokered by Real Broker LLC Merch
http://www.EricWestMaui.com
Maui hawaii, Maui real estate, Maui listing agent, Maui buyers agent, Maui homes for sale ... ETC.
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Lahaina
Front Street Walking Tour
🌸
Consider Supporting Citizen Reporting of the Truth on Maui
Visit http://www.TruthMaui.com
Brokered by Real Broker LLC Merch
http://www.EricWestMaui.com
Maui hawaii, Maui real estate, Maui listing agent, Maui buyers agent, Maui homes for sale ... ETC.
www.youtube.com
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Kahului - Hawaii
Kahului - Hawaii
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Visiting My Friend in Maui
Visiting My Friend in Maui
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Artworks
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Artworks
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A Buddhist Resort
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https://lumeriamaui.com/maui-retreat-specials/?
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Lumeria Maui - Kama’aina rates from $299
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https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60635-d2431959-Reviews-Lumeria_Maui_Educational_Retreat-Makawao_Maui_Hawaii.html
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A Buddhist Resort
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https://lumeriamaui.com/maui-retreat-specials/?
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Lumeria Maui - Kama’aina rates from $299
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https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60635-d2431959-Reviews-Lumeria_Maui_Educational_Retreat-Makawao_Maui_Hawaii.html
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An Other Buddhist Resort
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An Other Buddhist Resort
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Somewhere in
Kahului
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Somewhere in
Kahului
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Driving Around Maui
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Driving Around Maui
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Resorts
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Resorts
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The Strawberry Farm
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The Strawberry Farm
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https://wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/category/edible-hawaiian-plants/
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Edible Hawaiian Plants
Listed here are some of the edible plants found in Hawaii. Plants with edible nuts, flowers, leaves, roots, and especially edible fruit are very common here in Hawaii and a some are even commercially grown here.
Caution: If you are not certain of a plant's identity, please do not eat it! It's always best to get edibility information from more than source. Also, just because a plant is listed here as edible does not mean that the entire plant is safe to eat. Some plants with edible parts may also have poisonous parts and some fruits are only edible when ripe.
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https://wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/category/edible-hawaiian-plants/
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Edible Hawaiian Plants
Listed here are some of the edible plants found in Hawaii. Plants with edible nuts, flowers, leaves, roots, and especially edible fruit are very common here in Hawaii and a some are even commercially grown here.
Caution: If you are not certain of a plant's identity, please do not eat it! It's always best to get edibility information from more than source. Also, just because a plant is listed here as edible does not mean that the entire plant is safe to eat. Some plants with edible parts may also have poisonous parts and some fruits are only edible when ripe.
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- Aleurites moluccana – Kukui
- Ananas bracteatus – Red Pineapple
- Ananas comosus – Pineapple
- Artocarpus altilis – Breadfruit
- Canna indica – Indian Shot
- Carica papaya – Papaya
- Coccoloba uvifera – Sea Grape
- Cocos nucifera – Coconut Palm
- Coffea arabica – Coffee
- Coprosma ernodeoides – 'Aiakanene
- Cordia subcordata – Kou
- Cordyline fruticosa – Ti
- Dioscorea bulbifera – Air Yam
- Emilia sonchifolia – Lilac Tasselflower
- Etlingera elatior – Torch Ginger
- Hedychium coronarium – White Ginger
- Hibiscus rosa-sinensis – Chinese Hibiscus
- Ipomoea cairica – Mile A Minute Vine
- Leucaena leucocephala – White Leadtree
- Mangifera indica – Mango
- Momordica charantia – Bitter Melon
- Monstera deliciosa – Monstera
- Morinda citrifolia – Noni
- Musa acuminata – Banana
- Musa ornata – Flowering Banana
- Oxalis debilis var. corymbosa – Pink Wood Sorrel
- Pandanus tectorius – Hala
- Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa – Liliko'i
- Passiflora vitifolia – Perfumed Passionflower
- Persea americana – Avocado
- Psidium cattleianum – Strawberry Guava
- Psidium guajava – Guava
- Ricinus communis – Castor Bean
- Rubus argutus – Sawtooth Blackberry
- Rubus rosifolius – West Indian Raspberry
- Saccharum officinarum – Sugarcane
- Sadleria cyatheoides – Amaumau Fern
- Setaria palmifolia – Palmgrass
- Solanum americanum – American Black Nightshade
- Syzygium malaccense – Mountain Apple
- Thespesia populnea – Milo
- Tropaeolum majus – Nasturtium
- Vaccinium calycinum – Ohelo Kau La'au
- Vaccinium reticulatum – Ohelo 'Ai
- Zingiber zerumbet – Shampoo Ginger
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Synedrella Nodiflora Above
leaves are usually eaten as food by livestock
and humans without any reported toxicities.
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I saw them everywhere - FREE GREEN for Smoothies ...
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Synedrella Nodiflora Above
leaves are usually eaten as food by livestock
and humans without any reported toxicities.
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I saw them everywhere - FREE GREEN for Smoothies ...
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Flowers Everywhere
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Flowers Everywhere
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The Very High Food Prices
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The Papayas in Hawaii are GMO ...
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... Within two years, more than half of all the papaya grown on Hawaii was GMO.
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A decade later, GMO papaya accounted
for over 90 percent of the papaya production.
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The Very High Food Prices
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The Papayas in Hawaii are GMO ...
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... Within two years, more than half of all the papaya grown on Hawaii was GMO.
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A decade later, GMO papaya accounted
for over 90 percent of the papaya production.
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A $1Million Condominium
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A $1Million Condominium
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Visiting Lahaina
See the Tragedy on the Links
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https://ancientmistery.weebly.com/hawaii---2023.html
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The critical areas are fenced in ...
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Visiting Lahaina
See the Tragedy on the Links
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https://ancientmistery.weebly.com/hawaii---2023.html
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The critical areas are fenced in ...
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Driving Around Maui
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Driving Around Maui
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Billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg buy
vast swathes of land in remote areas ...
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https://theconversation.com/billionaires-are-building-bunkers-and-buying-islands-but-are-they-prepping-for-the-apocalypse-or-pioneering-a-new-feudalism-223987
Billionaires are building bunkers and buying islands. But are they prepping for the apocalypse – or pioneering a new feudalism?
When billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg buy vast swathes of land in remote areas, it can look like “prepping” – but they’re really trying to establish medieval-style fiefdoms.
theconversation.com
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Billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg buy
vast swathes of land in remote areas ...
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https://theconversation.com/billionaires-are-building-bunkers-and-buying-islands-but-are-they-prepping-for-the-apocalypse-or-pioneering-a-new-feudalism-223987
Billionaires are building bunkers and buying islands. But are they prepping for the apocalypse – or pioneering a new feudalism?
When billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg buy vast swathes of land in remote areas, it can look like “prepping” – but they’re really trying to establish medieval-style fiefdoms.
theconversation.com
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Billionaires are building bunkers and buying islands.
But are they prepping for the apocalypse –
or pioneering a new feudalism?
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https://theconversation.com/billionaires-are-building-bunkers-and-buying-islands-but-are-they-prepping-for-the-apocalypse-or-pioneering-a-new-feudalism-223987
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Billionaires are building bunkers and buying islands.
But are they prepping for the apocalypse –
or pioneering a new feudalism?
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https://theconversation.com/billionaires-are-building-bunkers-and-buying-islands-but-are-they-prepping-for-the-apocalypse-or-pioneering-a-new-feudalism-223987
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Katherine Guinness Lecturer in Art History, The University of Queensland
Tom Doig receives funding from Creative Australia and the New Zealand Society of Authors.
Grant Bollmer and Katherine Guinness do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
University of Queensland provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.
View all partners
In December 2023, WIRED reported that Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire CEO of Meta and one of the foremost architects of today’s social-media-dominated world, has been buying up large swathes of the Hawaiian island Kauai.
Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are constructing a gigantic compound – known as Ko’olau Ranch – on this land, which will most likely cost over A$400 million to complete.
This estate stretches over 5,500,000 square metres, is surrounded by a two-metre wall and is patrolled by numerous security guards driving quad bikes on nearby beaches. Hundreds of local Hawaiians work on Zuckerberg’s property. But precisely how many, and what they actually do, is concealed by a binding nondisclosure agreement.
- Grant BollmerSenior Lecturer in Digital Media, The University of Queensland
- Tom DoigLecturer in Creative Writing, The University of Queensland
Tom Doig receives funding from Creative Australia and the New Zealand Society of Authors.
Grant Bollmer and Katherine Guinness do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
University of Queensland provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.
View all partners
In December 2023, WIRED reported that Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire CEO of Meta and one of the foremost architects of today’s social-media-dominated world, has been buying up large swathes of the Hawaiian island Kauai.
Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are constructing a gigantic compound – known as Ko’olau Ranch – on this land, which will most likely cost over A$400 million to complete.
This estate stretches over 5,500,000 square metres, is surrounded by a two-metre wall and is patrolled by numerous security guards driving quad bikes on nearby beaches. Hundreds of local Hawaiians work on Zuckerberg’s property. But precisely how many, and what they actually do, is concealed by a binding nondisclosure agreement.
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WIRED’s subheading hones in on the fact that Zuckerberg’s Ko’olau Ranch includes plans for a “massive underground bunker”. This seems to be the detail that piques the interest of reporters and conspiracy theorists alike.
People are asking not only “Why is Mark Zuckerberg building a private apocalypse bunker in Hawaii?”, but also “What do the [billionaires] know?” and “What is going to happen in 2024 that they are not telling us?”.
Mark Zuckerberg owns ‘large swathes’ of the Hawaiian island Kauai. Ron Kosen / AAPBeyond the bunker fixationDoomsday bunkers are becoming a common sight in contemporary apocalypse-themed US pop culture, from The Last of Us and Tales from the Walking Dead to the recent Netflix film, Leave the World Behind.
At the same time, public interest in the (increasingly lucrative) bunker industry is fanned by lurid headlines such as “Billionaires’ Survivalist Bunkers Go Absolutely Bonkers With Fiery Moats and Water Cannons”.
But other pieces of infrastructure on Kauai are arguably more deserving of our attention: several oversized mansions, with the combined footprint of a football field; at least 11 treehouses connected by rope bridges; machinery dedicated to water purification, desalination and storage.
Meanwhile, the Facebook billionaire posts “relatable” content on Instagram from his humble ranch, such as a pic of “Zuck” about to tuck into a massive side of grilled beef.
Zuck informs his followers he’s now ranching his own cattle, feeding them with macadamia nuts grown on the ranch and beer brewed there as well. “
Each cow eats 5,000-10,000 pounds of food each year, so that’s a lot of acres of macadamia trees,” he (or one of his assistants) writes.
Mark Zuckerberg is ranching his own cattle. Mark Zuckerberg/Instagram, CC BY-SAAs two of us argue in our forthcoming book, The Influencer Factory, this kind of ersatz “down to earth” social media presence is actually an example of “a new transformation in capitalism, in which the logic of the self is indistinguishable from the logic of the corporation”.
Accompanying a picture of his child digging a hole in the ground, one of the most powerful (and least accountable) men in the world comments:
My daughters help plant the mac trees and take care of our different animals. We’re still early in the journey and it’s fun improving on it every season. Of all my projects, this is the most delicious.
Other plans from Zuckerberg and Chan include wildlife preservation, native plant restoration, organic turmeric and ginger farms, and partnerships with conservation experts in Kauai to preserve and protect the native flora and fauna. These activities will have far more material impact on Kauai than the bunker, no matter how many rooms it might have.
Read more: Doomsday bunkers, Mars and 'The Mindset': the tech bros trying to outsmart the end of the world
People are asking not only “Why is Mark Zuckerberg building a private apocalypse bunker in Hawaii?”, but also “What do the [billionaires] know?” and “What is going to happen in 2024 that they are not telling us?”.
Mark Zuckerberg owns ‘large swathes’ of the Hawaiian island Kauai. Ron Kosen / AAPBeyond the bunker fixationDoomsday bunkers are becoming a common sight in contemporary apocalypse-themed US pop culture, from The Last of Us and Tales from the Walking Dead to the recent Netflix film, Leave the World Behind.
At the same time, public interest in the (increasingly lucrative) bunker industry is fanned by lurid headlines such as “Billionaires’ Survivalist Bunkers Go Absolutely Bonkers With Fiery Moats and Water Cannons”.
But other pieces of infrastructure on Kauai are arguably more deserving of our attention: several oversized mansions, with the combined footprint of a football field; at least 11 treehouses connected by rope bridges; machinery dedicated to water purification, desalination and storage.
Meanwhile, the Facebook billionaire posts “relatable” content on Instagram from his humble ranch, such as a pic of “Zuck” about to tuck into a massive side of grilled beef.
Zuck informs his followers he’s now ranching his own cattle, feeding them with macadamia nuts grown on the ranch and beer brewed there as well. “
Each cow eats 5,000-10,000 pounds of food each year, so that’s a lot of acres of macadamia trees,” he (or one of his assistants) writes.
Mark Zuckerberg is ranching his own cattle. Mark Zuckerberg/Instagram, CC BY-SAAs two of us argue in our forthcoming book, The Influencer Factory, this kind of ersatz “down to earth” social media presence is actually an example of “a new transformation in capitalism, in which the logic of the self is indistinguishable from the logic of the corporation”.
Accompanying a picture of his child digging a hole in the ground, one of the most powerful (and least accountable) men in the world comments:
My daughters help plant the mac trees and take care of our different animals. We’re still early in the journey and it’s fun improving on it every season. Of all my projects, this is the most delicious.
Other plans from Zuckerberg and Chan include wildlife preservation, native plant restoration, organic turmeric and ginger farms, and partnerships with conservation experts in Kauai to preserve and protect the native flora and fauna. These activities will have far more material impact on Kauai than the bunker, no matter how many rooms it might have.
Read more: Doomsday bunkers, Mars and 'The Mindset': the tech bros trying to outsmart the end of the world
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An ecosystem of one’s own The founder of Facebook isn’t the only billionaire building gigantic compounds in Hawaii. Oprah Winfrey purchased a 163-acre estate in Maui back in 2002, and has bought further plots of land since then, totalling over 650,000 square metres.
Larry Ellison, the co-founder of tech company Oracle, purchased almost all of the Hawaiian island Lanai in 2012. Two years ago, the billionaire Frank VanderSloot purchased a 2,000 acre ranch just south of Zuckerberg’s.
Larry Ellison, the co-founder of tech company Oracle, purchased almost all of the Hawaiian island Lanai in 2012. Two years ago, the billionaire Frank VanderSloot purchased a 2,000 acre ranch just south of Zuckerberg’s.
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As high net worth individuals move in, locals already living on the land are increasingly priced out or even forcibly displaced – an unfortunate side effect of Hawaii’s complex land rights, where indigenous ownership and stewardship is often not legally recognised.
At first blush, these tycoons might seem to be “prepping” for a familiar 20th-century style apocalypse, as depicted in countless disaster movies. But they’re not.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison purchased ‘almost all’ of the Hawaiian island Lanai.Yes, their vast estates do include bunkers and other technologies traditionally associated with prepping. For example, the mansions of Ko’olau Ranch are connected through underground tunnels that feed into a large shelter.
However, Zuckerberg, Winfrey, Ellison and others are actually embarking on far more ambitious projects.
They are seeking to create entirely self-sustaining ecosystems, in which land, agriculture, the built environment and labour are all controlled and managed by a single person, who has more in common with a mediaeval-era feudal lord than a 21st-century capitalist.
Welcome (back) to feudalismSome have argued the tech industry has invented a new form of “technofeudalism” or “neofeudalism” that depends on “data colonization” and the corporate appropriation of personal data.
We agree, but also suggest what’s going on in Hawaii is actually aligned with traditional understandings of feudalism. As Joshua A. T. Fairfield, author of Owned: Property, Privacy and the New Digital Serfdom, puts it:
In the feudal system of medieval Europe, the king owned almost everything, and everyone else’s property rights depended on their relationship with the king. Peasants lived on land granted by the king to a local lord, and workers didn’t always even own the tools they used for farming or other trades like carpentry and blacksmithing.
Here it’s easy to see a contrast between Ko’olau Ranch and earlier attempts by billionaires to build bunkers to “escape” some future cataclysm.
Take, for instance, libertarian venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s failed attempts to build an elaborate, bunker-like underground lodge in Aotearoa New Zealand’s South Island, taking up more than 73,700 square metres of land. The plan was rejected because of hostilities between Thiel and the local council.
What we see with Zuckerberg’s project isn’t an overt conflict between billionaire and community. In Kauai, members of a community have consented, or conceded, to grant a plutocrat the stewardship of their land, in the name of preservation. This is a business model that leads directly (back) to feudalism.
This insight is lost in the media’s obsession with the “craziest features” of Zuckerberg’s Hawaiian folly. Rather, what is emerging among billionaires is a belief that survival depends not (only) on hiding out in a reinforced concrete hole in the ground, but (also) on developing, and controlling, an ecosystem of one’s own.
It’s all too easy to assume that, because some of the world’s richest people are buying up estates on remote islands and fitting them out with bunkers, they must be privy to some secret inside information. But the truth is simpler, and more brutal, than that. Billionaires are building elaborate properties … because they can.
At first blush, these tycoons might seem to be “prepping” for a familiar 20th-century style apocalypse, as depicted in countless disaster movies. But they’re not.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison purchased ‘almost all’ of the Hawaiian island Lanai.Yes, their vast estates do include bunkers and other technologies traditionally associated with prepping. For example, the mansions of Ko’olau Ranch are connected through underground tunnels that feed into a large shelter.
However, Zuckerberg, Winfrey, Ellison and others are actually embarking on far more ambitious projects.
They are seeking to create entirely self-sustaining ecosystems, in which land, agriculture, the built environment and labour are all controlled and managed by a single person, who has more in common with a mediaeval-era feudal lord than a 21st-century capitalist.
Welcome (back) to feudalismSome have argued the tech industry has invented a new form of “technofeudalism” or “neofeudalism” that depends on “data colonization” and the corporate appropriation of personal data.
We agree, but also suggest what’s going on in Hawaii is actually aligned with traditional understandings of feudalism. As Joshua A. T. Fairfield, author of Owned: Property, Privacy and the New Digital Serfdom, puts it:
In the feudal system of medieval Europe, the king owned almost everything, and everyone else’s property rights depended on their relationship with the king. Peasants lived on land granted by the king to a local lord, and workers didn’t always even own the tools they used for farming or other trades like carpentry and blacksmithing.
Here it’s easy to see a contrast between Ko’olau Ranch and earlier attempts by billionaires to build bunkers to “escape” some future cataclysm.
Take, for instance, libertarian venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s failed attempts to build an elaborate, bunker-like underground lodge in Aotearoa New Zealand’s South Island, taking up more than 73,700 square metres of land. The plan was rejected because of hostilities between Thiel and the local council.
What we see with Zuckerberg’s project isn’t an overt conflict between billionaire and community. In Kauai, members of a community have consented, or conceded, to grant a plutocrat the stewardship of their land, in the name of preservation. This is a business model that leads directly (back) to feudalism.
This insight is lost in the media’s obsession with the “craziest features” of Zuckerberg’s Hawaiian folly. Rather, what is emerging among billionaires is a belief that survival depends not (only) on hiding out in a reinforced concrete hole in the ground, but (also) on developing, and controlling, an ecosystem of one’s own.
It’s all too easy to assume that, because some of the world’s richest people are buying up estates on remote islands and fitting them out with bunkers, they must be privy to some secret inside information. But the truth is simpler, and more brutal, than that. Billionaires are building elaborate properties … because they can.
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Why are billionaires like Peter Thiel prepping for a potential apocalypse?
Because they can. J. Scott Applewhite/AAPMark Zuckerberg’s net worth in 2024 is an almost unfathomable A$260 billion. A $400 million Hawaiian fortress, extravagant as it might be, represents less than 0.2% of his total wealth. As a percentage, this is comparable to a household with a net worth of $1,000,000 (the average net worth in Australia) spending just $1,540.
These back-of-a-napkin calculations make it clear that members of the billionaire bunker club don’t have to “believe” in the likelihood of apocalypse or imminent social collapse in any committed or meaningful sense (as self-declared “doomster” Jem Bendell does).
Instead, since they have far more money than they know what to do with, they may as well use a small fraction of it to build underground fortresses. Bill Gates, for example, owns at least eight properties in the US alone and, according to the Hollywood Reporter, “is rumored to have underground security areas under every one of his homes”.
Read more: Friday essay: if the world's systems are 'already cracking' due to climate change, is there a post-doom silver lining?
Rich prepper, poor prepperOn the other hand, the less disposable income someone has, the more any serious attempts to “prepare for the future” will disrupt their lives in the here and now.
Prepping culture makes little sense in countries like India or Cambodia or Yemen, where severe poverty is widespread and hundreds of millions of people are already surviving in conditions that might seem “apocalyptic” to privileged westerners.
Closer to home, for middle-class people who can’t afford to own multiple properties, a decision to live on a potentially “safe” island would necessitate moving there permanently, in the process passing up opportunities to earn income elsewhere.
If your disposable income is roughly $5,000 or $10,000 per year, and you hope to purchase a Rising S “Standard Bomb Shelter Base Model”, this would set you back a little over $150,000. You would have to dedicate your entire working life to this project.
Maybe this is why, during the early weeks of lockdowns in 2020, there was a rush of ordinary people bulk-buying toilet paper. It was the least expensive, most convenient way to amass a significant-looking stockpile in a hurry. People could feel like they were “taking action” during an otherwise overwhelming situation.
Meanwhile, our obsession with the mega-bunkers of the mega-rich is part of a broader cultural trend, in which ordinary – read: poor – people pretend to make fun of “crazy” billionaires, while furtively aspiring to uber-wealthy status themselves.
This ideological shell game allows us to (fleetingly) acknowledge the damage runaway global inequality is doing to social cohesion and the viability of our ecosystems.
In a voyeuristic fantasy, we can project ourselves to the very top of the inequality pyramid, just for a moment. A convergence of industries that prey on our collective insecurities occurred in 2021, when Texan bunker salesman Ron Hubbard appeared on an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians, and audiences got to watch Kim and Khloé go bunker shopping.
Because they can. J. Scott Applewhite/AAPMark Zuckerberg’s net worth in 2024 is an almost unfathomable A$260 billion. A $400 million Hawaiian fortress, extravagant as it might be, represents less than 0.2% of his total wealth. As a percentage, this is comparable to a household with a net worth of $1,000,000 (the average net worth in Australia) spending just $1,540.
These back-of-a-napkin calculations make it clear that members of the billionaire bunker club don’t have to “believe” in the likelihood of apocalypse or imminent social collapse in any committed or meaningful sense (as self-declared “doomster” Jem Bendell does).
Instead, since they have far more money than they know what to do with, they may as well use a small fraction of it to build underground fortresses. Bill Gates, for example, owns at least eight properties in the US alone and, according to the Hollywood Reporter, “is rumored to have underground security areas under every one of his homes”.
Read more: Friday essay: if the world's systems are 'already cracking' due to climate change, is there a post-doom silver lining?
Rich prepper, poor prepperOn the other hand, the less disposable income someone has, the more any serious attempts to “prepare for the future” will disrupt their lives in the here and now.
Prepping culture makes little sense in countries like India or Cambodia or Yemen, where severe poverty is widespread and hundreds of millions of people are already surviving in conditions that might seem “apocalyptic” to privileged westerners.
Closer to home, for middle-class people who can’t afford to own multiple properties, a decision to live on a potentially “safe” island would necessitate moving there permanently, in the process passing up opportunities to earn income elsewhere.
If your disposable income is roughly $5,000 or $10,000 per year, and you hope to purchase a Rising S “Standard Bomb Shelter Base Model”, this would set you back a little over $150,000. You would have to dedicate your entire working life to this project.
Maybe this is why, during the early weeks of lockdowns in 2020, there was a rush of ordinary people bulk-buying toilet paper. It was the least expensive, most convenient way to amass a significant-looking stockpile in a hurry. People could feel like they were “taking action” during an otherwise overwhelming situation.
Meanwhile, our obsession with the mega-bunkers of the mega-rich is part of a broader cultural trend, in which ordinary – read: poor – people pretend to make fun of “crazy” billionaires, while furtively aspiring to uber-wealthy status themselves.
This ideological shell game allows us to (fleetingly) acknowledge the damage runaway global inequality is doing to social cohesion and the viability of our ecosystems.
In a voyeuristic fantasy, we can project ourselves to the very top of the inequality pyramid, just for a moment. A convergence of industries that prey on our collective insecurities occurred in 2021, when Texan bunker salesman Ron Hubbard appeared on an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians, and audiences got to watch Kim and Khloé go bunker shopping.
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On an episode of Keeping up the with the Kardashians, they go bunker shopping.That the Australian public is fascinated by Zuckerberg and other billionaires’ spare mansions at a historical moment when our housing affordability crisis is reaching unprecedented levels is particularly telling, and galling.
Meanwhile, for the actual billionaires, bunkers are just a small part of a “diversified portfolio” of bets against the future.
Other well known schemes include investing in space travel, cryonics (freezing your body in the hopes of a future reincarnation), mind uploading, and in Peter Thiel’s case, flirting with parabiosis – transfusing young people’s blood into your own veins.
For billionaires, putting money into such projects doesn’t mean they’re crazy, or paranoid, or in possession of some special secret knowledge about the future. It simply means they’ve amassed such colossal surpluses of wealth, they may as well use it for something.
No billionaire can buy us…or control our agenda. While we sometimes wish that a very rich person would write us a blank check, no donor can take away our independence.
Meanwhile, for the actual billionaires, bunkers are just a small part of a “diversified portfolio” of bets against the future.
Other well known schemes include investing in space travel, cryonics (freezing your body in the hopes of a future reincarnation), mind uploading, and in Peter Thiel’s case, flirting with parabiosis – transfusing young people’s blood into your own veins.
For billionaires, putting money into such projects doesn’t mean they’re crazy, or paranoid, or in possession of some special secret knowledge about the future. It simply means they’ve amassed such colossal surpluses of wealth, they may as well use it for something.
No billionaire can buy us…or control our agenda. While we sometimes wish that a very rich person would write us a blank check, no donor can take away our independence.
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