Mark Zuckerberg has stumped the internet with his “out of touch” cattle ranch on his Hawaii estate.
On Jan. 10, the Meta billionaire posted a photo on Instagram of himself eating nothing but a medium-rare steak from his Ko'olau Ranch on his $100 million, 1,400-acre Kauai compound. There, Zuckerberg supposedly raises Wagyu and Angus cattle, both of which produce some of the most expensive and sought-after meats in the world.
He wrote in the caption: “I started raising cattle in [the] Ko'olau Ranch on Kauai, and my goal is to create some of the highest quality beef in the world.”
“Each cow eats between 5,000 and 10,000 pounds of feed each year, so that's a lot of acres of macadamia trees,” he continued. “My daughters help plant the trees and take care of our different animals. We're still in the early stages of the journey and it's fun to improve it each season. Of all my projects, this is the most delicious.”
On X, the social media platform owned by rival Elon Musk, many mocked Zuckerberg's new career as a rancher.
“Proud of you, man,” wrote journalist Andrew Greenberg. “You really fulfilled that dream of putting food in your mouth in a way that causes the most climate change possible for a human being.”
Unsurprisingly, Shalin Gala of the animal rights group PETA condemned Zuckerberg, writing, “Mark, the Middle Ages called and they want you back.” Meanwhile, critic @coloradotravis aggregate“The absolute stones to take after 'I'm growing a macadamia orchard to feed my artisanal wagyu' during an era of rising populism.”
“This is classic rich people bullshit,” one person wrote, while another commented: “Does money really disconnect people's brains from recognizing human and environmental destruction?”
According to an investigation by cabling, the billionaire's cattle are fed macadamia nuts and beer produced on the property. Zuckerberg's beer strategy is in line with tactics that some ranchers – specifically those who raise Kobe cattle – supposedly use to stimulate their animals' appetites, although the practice is rare.
“Raising livestock on water-intensive macadamia nuts and beer is just a strange billionaire sideshow,” Mitch Jones, policy director at Food & Water Watch, told the outlet. “We need real agricultural reform to address the inequalities in our food system and the reality of a warming climate.”
Jones added: “We need to promote the viability of small and medium-sized farms that work to feed everyone, not just wealthy celebrities.”
This is not the first time Zuckerberg has come under fire for his Ko'olau Ranch resort, initially criticized for purchasing the land in 2014. At the time, many critics noted that the billionaire's purchases came at the expense of the local community. Kauian community, who were allegedly pressured by Zuckerberg to sell him acres of his ancestral land. In 2017, the Facebook founder finally apologized in an op-ed published in the local Kauai newspaper.
