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Mark Zuckerberg 'Reconsidering' Lawsuits To Force Property Sales in Hawaii (cnbc.com)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he is "reconsidering" a set of lawsuits that he recently filed to compel hundreds of Hawaiians to sell him small plots of land they own that lie within the boundaries of 700-acre beachfront property on the island of Kauai. From a report on CNBC: The billionaire's potential about-face came after widespread publicity last week about the suits, which target a dozen plots comprising slightly more than eight acres of land strewn throughout the acreage that Zuckerberg bought for $100 million two years ago. Currently, owners of the lots, which have been in their families for generations, have the rights to travel across Zuckerberg's property. But many of the owners likely are unaware of their ownership interest in the plots. Last week, Zuckerberg said, "For most of these folks, they will now receive money for something they never even knew they had. No one will be forced off the land."
1) is the actual problem. There is no owner of record because the deed is held in a name that has long since passed away, and no heirs can be discovered without going through probate. Which is a long, expensive and often tears families a part. Yes, I've looked into this a bit, and it seems a "lawsuit" is required to discover the rightful owners. And with it, Zuckerberg will likely also have to pay all the back taxes on the land.
Makes Mark seem less like a douche when you stop kneejerking reactions. (He's still a douche, but for other reasons)
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
Doesn't matter if they do live there or not.
He's filed a lawsuit to take something he wants from someone else for his own comfort.
That's pretty deplorable no matter how you slice it.
The purpose of the lawsuit is to locate the people who own the land so he can offer to buy it and if noone steps forward then to clear the title so that he owns it fair and square. He's not taking anything from anyone and noone is being forced to sell anything. This is standard procedure in hawaii where a plot of land has been passed down to descendants. Of the 700 acres, we are only talking about 8 acres of which 300 people potentially own the rights to. If he could, I'm sure Zuckerburg would be more than willing to give those 300 people 8 acres on the edge of his property in exchange for their fraction of an acre share but he just doesn't want someone owning half an acre in the middle of his plot. Again, this is standard procedure. The only reason this is news is because the media has made it out like it's a rich guy trying to take advantage of some non-existent natives.
This is just click bait to bash Zuckerberg. He isn't suing to force people to sell.
Zuckerberg doesn't even know who the people are. They don't know who they are! There are 8 acres of land inside his land. He owes these people the right to cross his land and if he builds on his land something like a fence he has to consult with them.
No one has been paying property taxes on the land. He is asking the local government to:
1) find out who owns the land
2) collect the property taxes or auction the land to pay the taxes
3) if the land is auctioned to pay any money over the owed taxes to the owners of the land
To complicate things the land was bought by Portuguese workers (not native Hawaiians) 4 or 5 generations ago. So each of these plots could now have over 100 owners.
I care deeply about this because it's about someone wealthy from some social "platform"'s VC and stock-inflation value that decided to force natives out of their lands just because he has the money to do it. It proves he really hate everyone that isn't him, and uses everyone for his own personal gain.
From what I understand, only one person has been found so far and he's a professor that was willing to sell. We're talking 8 acres out of 700 and most of those 300 people who share it don't even know they own the land. He's not forcing anyone off any land. The lawsuit is to give people who might have ownership rights time to step forward and otherwise assume that they are all dead and proceed. This is standard procedure in hawaii. He's not doing anything that anyone else who buys land in hawaii doesn't have to do and what exactly are 300 people going to do with 8 acres. I'm sure Zuckerberg would be more than willing to give them the choice of any 8 acres on the edge of his tract if they really want it. This is all just propaganda to make him look like an evil rich guy.
Obviously you don't care that much about it because otherwise you would have read a bit about the story and realized the story is complete click bait. Zuckerberg isn't suing to force people to sell. Zuckerberg doesn't even know who the people are. They don't know who they are! There are 8 acres of land inside his land. He owes these people the right to cross his land and if he builds on his land something like a fence he has to consult with them. These owners owe property taxes on the land. He is asking the local government to find the people who own the land and tell them they own the land. If the owners decide they don't want the land (very likely) then the land will be sold and if it is sold for more than the back taxes the owners might get some money.
It this is the situation, then why shouldn't the steps be
1. Public records to find the owners
2. Send certified letters letting them know they own it and you'd like to buy it
3. Buy it, since "they'd be getting money for something they didn't know they had"
4. Avoid assholeriness
5. Enjoy!!!
This is EXACTLY what he is doing. This "lawsuit" is notifying the 300 next of kin who might own property to make a claim. The lawsuit basically says that if noone steps forward in 21 days that the court will give the property free and clear to Zuckerberg. He's not being an asshole, he's following standard procedure in Hawaii. This is how it is always done there.
The lawsuit is to discover the names of the owners so that he can make them an offer. It isn't an attempt to force them to sell or to take it from them.