Property high jinks in Hawaii

No sooner had Facebook founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg laid down some $US100 million (about $130 million) to buy an oceanfront estate in Hawaii than Julia Roberts listed her nearby beachfront property, the Faye Estate, for almost $US30 million.

It probably wasn’t something he said. The Oscar-winning actor and her husband Danny Moder already own a beachfront property on the island, which they briefly tried to sell in 2013 for $US17 million with no success.

According to the Pacific Business News scoop, the Faye Estate is a 8000-square-metre property in Hanalei on Kauai’s North Shore that was built circa 1915 by Hans Peter Faye, a prominent sugar plantation manager.

The star of the 1989 movie Pretty Woman bought it in 2011 for $US14 million, which was only a couple of years after the couple had already reportedly bought their smaller beachfront property for about $US10 million.

Roberts is not the only celebrity to seek the privacy of a Hawaiian island getaway. Among the impressive line-up of stars who also own on the island are Bette Midler, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Stiller, Chuck Norris and, of course, Zuckerberg.