'$100M?!' Tech Billionaires Are Driving Up Property Prices Around Lake Tahoe

Slashdot has been covering tech wealth's transformation of the California and Nevada communities around America's sixth-largest lake. (See "'We're Running Out of Homes for Sale', Lake Tahoe Brokers Say As Tech Workers Flee Bay Area " and "A Wave of Tech Workers Tranformed Tahoe Into a High-Priced 'Zoom-Town'.") This week Forbes reported that — even though it's 230 miles from Silicon Valley — a waterside property in Lake Tahoe was listed for $100 million, "and more owners are listing their luxury pads at exorbitant prices" (with more than 30% of the region's new buyers from the tech industry). "Many locals are fleeing the area because of high prices..." Record-breaking real estate acquisitions of lakefront property in Tahoe City on the California side and Incline Village on the Nevada side have been driven by tech billionaires from nearby Silicon Valley. Once Mark Zuckerberg purchased his massive lakefront estate in 2018 for $59 million, Google, Apple, and other tech execs followed, with over 30% of new buyers being from the tech industry. Recently billionaire Larry Ellison purchased the 16-acre waterfront Hyatt resort in the Incline Village area for $345 million. It is rumored this will ultimately become a new Sensei Resort. Ellison also purchased the famed Cal Neva Lodge on the North Shore for $36 million despite much-delayed plans to convert it into a Nobu Hotel. Ellison reportedly owns a 7.6-acre compound in the area within walking distance to his new hotels. And another California investor purchased the Tahoe Biltmore Hotel for $56 million in the popular Crystal Bay area and plans to convert it into the Lake Tahoe Luxury Resort and Residences.... According to Bill Dietz, President of Tahoe Luxury Properties, "Due to the proximity of the wealth-laden Silicon Valley, Lake Tahoe is a convenient target for billionaires.... The lenient tax climate and sand beaches of the Nevada side provide a distinct draw to that side of the lake for the super rich," he adds. "Incline Village and Crystal Bay on the north shore of the NV side showcases some of the most expensive and elaborate estates anywhere in the world. Millionaire row becomes billionaire row on Lakeshore Blvd in Incline Village."

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