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Mark Zuckerberg explores purchase of Washington DC property
- Ecco 2y agohttps://archive.ph/udq8m https://archive.ph/udq8m
- zeroonetwothree 2y agoSlow news day?
- error_logic 2y agoSeemingly tiny, inconsequential stories like this can add up. This sends a signal, and could hint at things to come.
- alistairSH 2y agoThis. If the timing were different, I'd agree with the "slow day" sentiment. But, given we're not two weeks out of inauguration, it's a signal that at least some oligarchs are convinced that physical proximity to Trump will help them achieve their Machiavellian ends. It will be interesting to see who else follows along. Bezos has had a place here for a while. It's a good time to be a realtor who specializes in Kalorama, that's for sure.
- Yhippa 2y agohttps://www.realtor.com/news/trends/trump-sends-d-c-s-luxury-home-market-into-an-all-out-buying-frenzy https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/trump-sends-d-c-s-luxury... I haven't followed this closely throughout history but I bet we're going to see cycles of people with power cycling in and out of the area based on who is in office and what they need to influence the government on.
- voidfunc 2y agoRight? I am more surprised he doesn't already have an apartment in DC for when he needs to be there.
- matthewdgreen 2y agoHe probably does. Or at least I assume a furnished apartment is always available. Buying "property" (and I assume in Zuckerberg terms, that means a large home or a piece of land) implies a more substantial investment and possibly a commitment to spend a much larger percentage of his time in DC.
- RajT88 2y agoIn DC you rent an apartment to spend time at the halls of power. You need someplace to sleep and keep your stuff. Not just lobbyists, but also senators and representatives do this. You buy a home to entertain powerful guests. The Conways famously purchased an 8 million dollar mansion during the Trump administration, IIRC. This stuff goes on all the time. If you pay attention to these stories, you can start to understand how power really works in the US.
- anizan 2y agoBill gates in his recent interview with WSJ said one of his past mistakes he regrets is not having a Microsoft office in DC sooner.
- the_sleaze_ 2y agoJeff Bezos has owned an opulent mansion on a huge piece of land at the top of the hill in Georgetown for over a decade
- HDThoreaun 2y agoHe likely stays in a lot of hotels/airbnbs.
- 2y ago
- rcpt 2y agoSlow news hour.
- cruffle_duffle 2y agoI remember my father saying something like “if this is all they got for news, it means pretty much everything is okay in the world”.
- cafard 2y ago"Elon Musk, who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency and has been working out of SpaceX’s Washington office, has reportedly also been seeking to invest in a DC property, prompting a backlash from locals in the city’s Adams Morgan neighbourhood." Adams-Morgan isn't really a Musk-style neighborhood. Kalorama, on the other side of Connecticut Ave. NW might be.
- wil421 2y agoHow many SpaceX employees in D.C. shit their pants when Musk showed up?
- burkaman 2y agoThere is a hotel in Adams Morgan called the LINE that was up for auction and he allegedly wanted it, but did not win the auction. He could still buy it from the auction winner though. The story is that he wants to turn it into some kind of social club.
- ThinkingGuy 2y agoSo did he change his mind about the whole "I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house" thing?
- chgs 2y agoAll of it?
- zabzonk 2y ago[flagged]
- jagger27 2y ago[flagged]
- mschoch 2y agowe're waiting for you Mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- seydor 2y agoThere are indeed a lot of spots for ads on the whitehouse
- bryanrasmussen 2y agosounds like an SNL skit, Zuckerberg is setting up extremely targeted advertising for Trump.
- francisofascii 2y agoWhich neighborhood do you think he will buy in? Georgetown is the obvious choice, or maybe something closer near the Facebook office in Chinatown?
- darth_avocado 2y agoWest wing would be preferable
- qingcharles 2y agoI hear the White House is for sale at the right price.
- firefax 2y agoA lot of affluent people buy houses in Bethesda then commute via the Red Line.
- dumbfounder 2y agoI don’t think a lot of billionaires ride the metro.
- firefax 2y agoYou'd be surprised who you see.
- alistairSH 2y agoIt's unlikely he'd buy a property here for normal "running the corporate empire" stuff - hotels or short-term leases (not Airbnb, but month long lease of luxury properties) are adequate for short trips like that. More likely, he's looking for a place where he serve as power broker, king maker, and socialize with other oligarchs, heads of state, etc. Kalorama puts him on equal footing with Bezos. Half the Trump clan already has homes there. Obama is there. And a bunch of other millionaires and billionaires most of us have never heard of.
- khazhoux 2y agoFor anyone who was confused, this is about the Mark Zuckerberg from Meta, not the other Mark Zuckerberg.
- tartoran 2y agoAre you joking or is there another Mark Zuckerberg we need to keep a tab on?
- askl 2y agoThere's also Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook.
- khazhoux 2y agoReminds me of that quote from Paul McCartney and John Lennon (from The Beatles) about Jesus (from the Bible)...
- khazhoux 2y agoTo be clear, I was referring to the 1960's band The Beatles, and the religious text called The Bible.
- fredophile 2y agoThat doesn't narrow it down. Who isn't on Facebook these days?
- ks2048 2y agoOne is pale and wears a hoodie and loves DEI. The one described here is tan and wears a gold chain and is really mad that some lady executive forced him to do DEI in the past.
- The_Colonel 2y agoI assume this is again some kind of joke. I'd appreciate if someone explained it without making another hard to decipher joke.
- davidw 2y agoI saw this comment this morning and it feels pretty accurate: "It’s never a good sign when CEOs think they must literally live in DC to successfully run their businesses." https://bsky.app/profile/prchovanec.bsky.social/post/3lgv2lj4rwk2d https://bsky.app/profile/prchovanec.bsky.social/post/3lgv2lj...
- herculity275 2y agoTo be fair Meta is not an ordinary business and Zuck is not an ordinary CEO.
- throwanem 2y agoTrue, we should expect special demands in the maintenance of a monopoly.
- magxnta 2y agoI don’t think Meta is a monopoly as they aren’t charging for anything and there are plenty of alternatives.
- amanaplanacanal 2y agoAren't they primarily an advertising company? They definitely charge for ads. Probably more of a duopoly with alphabet though.
- francoi8 2y agoI would say any large corporation should meet higher standards of public benefit.
- davidw 2y agoIt's a business that controls how millions of people get their information.
- mrweasel 2y agoOther than basically being THE owner of Meta, how is he different exactly?
- the123127 2y agoDon't worry, he just wants to lower the price of eggs and combat unemployment! Perhaps the Jan 6th people should consider moving to Washington and hold Trump accountable. Whereupon he'd have them arrested.
- picafrost 2y agoThe oligarchs will continue to oligarch as long as the exchange rate between money and power and power and money remains low.
- xdavidliu 2y agoif exchange rate in one direction is low, I think that means the rate in the other direction is high. They can't both be low at the same time.
- floobertoober 2y agoI think they mean the fees / commission
- picafrost 2y agoThanks for taking the time to point that out. Maybe high exchange rate or highly convertible is more correct to say.
- ks2048 2y agoIt's quite a bad omen that the last sentence even needs to be said: "... Trump last week denied that Musk would be getting an office in the White House itself."
- giancarlostoro 2y agoThey do that hoping you click on other articles, "Trump denied" to me implies someone asked the question from the press.
- HumblyTossed 2y agoAll these CEOs spending so much time in DC. I really feel AI would be better at running most of these companies.
- dangus 2y agoRight, I thought we couldn't get any work done unless we are in the office? How is Elon Musk able to run 4 companies and the Department of Government Efficiency? I was told that being a CEO was much harder and longer hours than a normal employee and that justifies their salary. But if CEOs work 80 hours a week at their company like I was told it would be physically impossible for a CEO to run multiple companies and a government office at the same time?
- cedws 2y agoDon’t forget he’s also a top player in Path of Exile 2 hardcore league - a feat that requires playing around the clock. He’s so good at gaming that he was playing it while at the inauguration without needing a computer.
- etchalon 2y agoWe're just going full oligarchy, huh. Neat.
- mrweasel 2y agoIt seems unclear if he's looking at build a home, or if he is looking to buy up some of the government office building the Trump administration wants to put up for sale.
- electrondood 2y agoI know a corrupt real estate developer who would probably love to sell him a property at 500% of the market rate.
- dopamean 2y agoI feel like this is a damning statement this about the current political environment. Someone like Zuck thinks it is a useful to his company if he spends a significant amount of time away from it in DC dealing with political things. I'd imagine most people would agree that CEOs should be focused on the act of running their businesses rather than managing political situations.
- insane_dreamer 2y agoNew Broligarchy req?
- synthc 2y agoThis just proves to me Meta can't build a product users actually want to use, they can only acquire other products, or lobby.