Table of Contents
Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire chief executive of Meta, and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have reportedly bought a castle in Ireland, adding a European base to a property portfolio that already spans the United States.
The couple are said to have acquired Strancally Castle in County Waterford from its owners, Michael and Giancarla Alen Buckley, for an undisclosed sum several weeks ago, according to reports. The Buckleys had owned the property for 25 years.
The three-story, Gothic-revival house sits on a 440-acre estate on the banks of the river Blackwater and underwent a full restoration over the past two decades. It could have sold for between €20 million ($23 million) and €30 million ($35 million), reports indicate, though the price the couple paid has not been disclosed.
Zuckerberg and Chan are expected to keep living in the United States and to use the castle when they are in Ireland, where Meta has run its European headquarters since 2009. The country has become a hub for the largest US technology companies, drawn by its tax regime and access to the European market.
In a statement, the Buckley family said they were leaving their home of 25 years fondly and were grateful for the chance to save and restore it. They said they were pleased the new owners intended to keep investing in the property and grounds and to maintain it as a family home.
The purchase places the couple among a cluster of wealthy landowners along the Blackwater valley. The British inventor James Dyson bought the nearby Ballynatray House for about €29 million ($34 million) in 2024, while Lismore Castle and Salterbridge House, the latter owned by the property investor Stephen Vernon, lie close by.
Strancally Castle, a roughly 30-minute drive from the coastal town of Youghal, is one of a number of historic Irish estates to change hands among international buyers in recent years, as restored country houses attract billionaires seeking privacy and space.
The acquisition marks a rare personal property investment outside the United States for Zuckerberg, whose fortune is built on Facebook and Instagram and who has concentrated his real estate at home, including a large compound in Hawaii. Neither Zuckerberg nor Meta has publicly commented on the reported purchase.
The intelligence satisfies curiosity. The paid briefings satisfy strategy.
Every Monday, Elite subscribers receive an Investor Memo breaking down the deal, the structure and the positioning behind the week's most consequential African wealth story - the kind of analysis that doesn't appear anywhere else.
Twice a month, a Wealth Intelligence brief profiles a single billionaire's holdings, cash flows and expansion pipeline in detail no public source matches.
→ Executive ($25/mo): Daily newsletter + Deep-Dive Reports
→ Elite ($75/mo): Everything above + Investor Memos + Wealth Intelligence + Quarterly Analyst Briefings
Subscribe now
