Even Billions Of Dollars Won’t Save You From The Nanny State: Mark Zuckerberg And Priscilla Chan Learn Hard Way

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is in hot water for being a good dad. 

Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, “were running a private school out of a house at their Palo Alto compound for two of their daughters and a dozen other children,” The New York Times (NYT) reports. “And,” the outlet adds, “They were doing it in violation of city code.”

That’s no laughing matter. Zuckerberg might have to cough up a whole $100 in administrative fees. He also sadly seems set on shutting it all down. (RELATED: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Deal With The Devil Exposed By Whistleblower)

A school called BBS was operating out of the billionaire’s compound, according to the NYT, citing state documents and city officials. The school was allegedly staffed by three full-time teachers, one part-time teacher, one administrator, and another staff member. Just fourteen children were enrolled, reports the NYT, ranging from kindergarten to fourth grade. 

That’s one teacher for every three and a half students. Palo Alto’s Herbert Hoover Elementary, rated first among the district’s public elementary schools by U.S. News and World Report, boasts a 19 to 1 student-teacher ratio. 

Bay Area public schools are routinely worthless or ideologically insane, but Mark Zuckerberg didn’t want his kids to be educated alone. So, he and and wife let 12 children into their home and let them be educated alongside their kids with three teachers that they personally paid… pic.twitter.com/NujCmNYZ1e

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 11, 2025

There are plenty of reasons to object to Zuckerberg. His libertarian affect sometimes seems phony. His eyes are unblinking. He shields his kids from social media while rolling out a messaging app for your kids. 

But there’s hardly a better use of money than educating your children as you see fit. 

Public schools are often overcrowded. The facilities might be subpar. Smart kids languish in classrooms tailored to the lowest common denominator and in peer groups which may be largely uninterested in learning. 

Private schools promise high standards in exchange for oodles of money. But private schools, even those of an ostensibly religious nature, are liable to introduce children to wacky political ideas. Refer to the “genderbread person.”

Zuckerberg’s solution is obvious. Hand-select the students. Hand-select the teachers. One suspects he and Chan likely maintain strict oversight over the curriculum, too. 

I can’t imagine the horrors happening inside a private home school that violated Palo Alto city code. God forbid they were learning calculus.

Pray for these children. pic.twitter.com/Z8SkoQwmP6

— Katherine Boyle (@KTmBoyle) August 11, 2025

There are dangers to operating in this manner. You might arouse the ire of jealous neighbors, who, according to the NYT, complained about the school in emails to Palo Alto’s director of planning and development. (RELATED: Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan That Biden Admin Would ‘Scream’ And ‘Curse’ At Meta Employees To Censor ‘True’ Content)

Operators assured the director, Jonathan Lait, “they would cease running the school June 30 and instead might apply for a permit for a day care facility at the site.” Zuckerberg and Chan are moving their project to a different location, a spokesperson for the couple told the NYT. 

Keep these children in your thoughts and prayers. They’re probably already reading well above grade level. Their math skills are probably spectacular, too. These are the sort of tragedies that tend to befall children educated outside of state institutions.

Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC