Peter Thiel files plans to build luxury lodge on New Zealand estate

On Sep 1, 2021

Peter Thiel

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire who co-founded PayPal and Palantir and backed Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, has filed plans to build a large complex on a 193-hectare (477-acre) estate that he owns on the South Island of New Zealand.

Thiel, an early investor in Facebook who sits on its board, bought the estate in 2015 for a reported $13.5 million through an Auckland-headquartered company he owns called Second Star Limited.

Plans for the complex, which were filed to Queenstown Lakes District Council and published by the council on Tuesday, show several inconspicuous buildings that blend into the landscape on the shores of the picturesque Lake Wanaka.

The images in the plans, designed by Tokyo Olympic Stadium architect Kengo Kuma and Associates, show a private residential building built into a hillside as well as a larger luxury lodge with enough space for 24 people. There’s also a separate meditation pod, several water features and a yet-to-be-designed back-of-house building.

Kengo Kuma and Associates said the objective was to “design an organic architecture that fuses into the landscape” and respects the indigenous nature.

The lavish lodge would feature 10 bedrooms.

Spas and theaters

The so-called owner’s cabin has a spa, a pool, theater lounge, office and three bedrooms, while the guest cabin has its own spa and pool, as well as a library, and 10 guest bedrooms with uninterrupted north-facing views toward Lake Wanaka and the Southern Alps.

“The architecture of the proposed lodge is unique,” said Jo Fyfe, senior planner at John Edmonds and Associates, who carried out an assessment of the environmental effects of the complex.

“The careful design and placement of buildings into the landscape is thoughtful and recognizes the landscape setting. The sympathetic design will use a green roof that will employ the same naturally rustic planting palette of the hillocks that they will be located within.”

Up to 15 staff would work on the site at peak times, but none of them would reside there, according to planning documents. It’s unclear when the lodge could be operational or how much it would cost to stay there.

Kiwi property portfolio

In 2017, it emerged that Thiel had been granted citizenship by the New Zealand government.

Located in relative isolation from the largest population centers of the world, New Zealand has become a popular destination with high net-worth individuals in recent years. Billionaire Google co-founder Larry Page was granted residency at the start of the year.

Home to around 5 million people, the country has become synonymous with “preppers” — those who try to prepare for catastrophic events that may pose a threat to humanity. Today, there’s even a website dedicated to people wanting to prep their families for “survival” in New Zealand.

Reports had suggested that Thiel was planning to build some sort of apocalypse-proof bunker on his estate, which is currently used as a working farm. While some…