Zuckerberg and wife buy two-century-old Irish castle for around Tk 7,000 crore
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have bought a historic castle in Ireland that is nearly two centuries old. Strancally Castle, in County Waterford, has now joined their list of personal properties.
International outlet NDTV reported that the three-storey castle, built in the Gothic Revival style, stands on roughly 440 acres, with the River Blackwater flowing alongside. The castle is about 200 kilometres from Meta's European headquarters in Dublin.
According to The Irish Times, the sale was officially recorded at the country's property registration office on August 17. The couple paid 51.17 million euros for the main castle building and one adjoining acre, an amount equal to roughly Tk 7,000 crore.
Experts believe, however, that the total value of the property could be far higher, because the registered amount does not fully include the overall value of the 440 acres of farmland and woodland.
According to government architectural records, the castle was built around 1830, facing the River Blackwater, for former Irish member of parliament John Kiely. Architects James and George Richard Pain designed the three-storey mansion of about 16,000 square feet.
The Irish Farmers Journal reported that the vast property, surrounded by woodland and open fields, also has its own private boat mooring. Previous owners Michael and Giancarla Allen-Buckley carried out extensive renovation work over the past two decades, including in 2003, while preserving the castle's heritage.
A spokesperson for Zuckerberg confirmed that he and his family are delighted to own the historic building and plan to spend holidays in Ireland regularly.
Because of its comparatively easy and favourable tax system, Ireland hosts the European headquarters of top US technology firms including Google and Apple. Meta's European office currently employs about 1,500 people.
