Mark Zuckerberg accused of running an illegal school inside his Palo Alto compound

Mark Zuckerberg

For years, Mark Zuckerberg’s neighbors in Palo Alto’s upscale Crescent Park neighborhood have lived next to what they describe as a “mini campus.” The Meta CEO and his wife, Priscilla Chan, reportedly own 11 properties in the area — five of which are connected — creating one massive family compound. But recently, a new controversy has stirred up the quiet Californian neighborhood.

According to a detailed report by Wired, neighbors discovered that a school was being run inside the Zuckerberg property — without a city permit. The so-called Bicken Ben School, reportedly named after one of the family’s chickens, had been operating since around 2021 and eventually enrolled up to 30 or more students.

Residents soon began complaining to the city, saying the school violated zoning rules that allow only residential use. Some even accused city officials of giving the billionaire special treatment. “You have not earned our trust,” one neighbor wrote in an email to Palo Alto authorities. “Any solution that depends on good faith from this property owner is a failure from the beginning.”

The city, however, denied any bias. A Palo Alto spokesperson said all zoning and safety laws are enforced “consistently, without regard to who owns a property.” Officials also said they had been in contact with the Zuckerberg family’s representatives and that steps were being taken to resolve the issue.

By March 2025, authorities had reportedly instructed the family to shut down the unpermitted school by June 30. While neighbors claim the school stopped operating that summer, a spokesperson for Zuckerberg told Wired that the school hadn’t closed — it had simply moved. Where exactly it moved to remains unclear.

Over the years, residents have also raised concerns about noise, construction, private security, and traffic caused by the large compound. Some even described living next to the world’s most famous tech billionaire as “untenable.”

For now, the controversy appears to have quieted down — but in Palo Alto’s Crescent Park, the debate over one family’s influence on a neighborhood isn’t likely to fade soon.