Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Purchase 19th Century Irish Castle

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have purchased Strancally Castle, a neo Gothic residence located in County Waterford in the south of Ireland. The property includes a estate of approximately 178 hectares, or 440 acres, situated along the banks of the river Blackwater. While the transaction was conducted off market and the exact price has not been officially disclosed, reports estimate the value of the property to be between 20 million and 30 million euros.

Built around 1830 for former conservative deputy John Keily, the castle was designed by architects James and George Richard Pain. The scale of the residence is noted for its size; one source mentions that it once took a four and a half minute walk to get from the kitchen to the dining room. The previous owners, Michael Alen Buckley, co founder of RAB Capital, and his wife Giancarla, had owned and restored the home for 25 years. In a statement, the former owners expressed happiness that Zuckerberg and his family intend to maintain and improve the property sustainably.

Zuckerberg and Chan plan to use the castle as a base during their visits to Ireland, where Meta has maintained its international headquarters since 2009 and employs approximately 1,500 people. The purchase follows a previous interest in the region, as Zuckerberg had reportedly expressed interest in buying a different estate in Kildare from John Malone last summer.

Coverage of the event varied slightly in focus. A center left source provided more detail on the architectural history of the Pain brothers and the specific location of the estate relative to other billionaire properties. A center right source included extensive biographical information regarding Priscilla Chan and the philanthropic goals of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.