Leah Fieger: Zoey, I'm obsessed with this story. Before you continue, I think it's very important to say that Caroline, the excellent reporter for this story on your desk, has obtained 1,665 pages of documents on the Zuckerberg house dispute. This story is now canon.
Zoe Schiffer: Caroline Haskins is a real star. Our fact-checking team literally cried when I asked them. They're like, “Wait, excuse me, how many documents are we going through?” I said, “Yes.”
Leah Fieger: Thanks to the WIRED research team.
Zoe Schiffer: Absolutely. I think it's worth mentioning that the school is named after one of the Zuckerberg family's chickens. It's called Beaken Ben School.
Leah Fieger: I mean, when you say that, I know you're serious, but again.
Zoe Schiffer: So, the Crescent City area of Palo Alto, where the Zuckerbergs live, is, as you can imagine, some of the best real estate in the entire country. It's full of gorgeous homes and tons of greenery. Mark Zuckerberg has been expanding his presence in this trendy area over the years. The land on which the Zuckerbergs live has expanded to include 11 previously separate properties. This is so funny and just a nightmare. If you live on the street, you paid whatever, $5 million for your house, and suddenly all your neighbors are Mark Zuckerberg.
Leah Fieger: It's important to note that not all of them connect. I don't quite understand what this means. Do they walk through the neighbor's porch to get to the horse pool? What does this entail?
Zoe Schiffer: We have more questions. We need to find this on Google Earth. I think there are some holes in this story that we need to fill. The expansion first became a concern for Mark Zuckerberg's neighbors back in 2016 due to fears that his purchases would drive the market up quite sharply. But then, about five years later, neighbors began to notice that there was a school operating on the Zuckerberg compound. Thus, it is illegal, at least according to the area's residential zoning code. And so, naturally, the neighbors began to warn the city. Caroline Haskins, the reporter for this story, as you said, obtained more than a thousand documents describing the ensuing fight between neighbors and city officials, claiming they believed the Zuckerbergs were getting special treatment.
