Mark Zuckerberg—Zuckerberg filed quiet title lawsuits against hundreds of Native Hawaiians to force sale of ancestral kuleana lands on Kauai estate
In December 2016, companies controlled by Mark Zuckerberg filed eight 'quiet title' lawsuits targeting hundreds of Native Hawaiians who held small parcels of ancestral kuleana land within his 700-acre Kauai estate purchased for $100 million. The lawsuits sought forced public auctions of these parcels, some dating to the 1850s. A Change.org petition opposing the suits gathered over 378,000 signatures. Critics called it 'neocolonialism.' Zuckerberg withdrew the lawsuits on January 27, 2017, apologizing and stating 'it's clear we made a mistake.' He subsequently donated millions to local organizations and continued acquiring additional land, expanding his holdings to roughly 1,500 acres.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing Affordability | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Racial Justice | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.725 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.64)
Evidence (2 signals)
Zuckerberg dropped quiet title lawsuits and apologized: 'it's clear we made a mistake'
On January 27, 2017, Zuckerberg withdrew the lawsuits and published a letter in The Garden Island newspaper stating: 'Upon reflection, I regret that I did not take the time to fully understand the quiet title process and its history before we moved ahead. Now that I understand the issues better, it's clear we made a mistake.'
CNBC reported Zuckerberg suing hundreds of Hawaiians to force property sale of kuleana lands
CNBC reported in January 2017 that Zuckerberg-controlled entities filed eight quiet title lawsuits targeting hundreds of Native Hawaiians with ancestral kuleana land parcels within his 700-acre Kauai estate. The lawsuits sought forced public auctions.