Marc Andreessen, the billionaire tech investor, urged local officials in his exclusive Bay Area town not to build affordable housing for fear it would devalue his own property — even as he publicly railed against “crazily skyrocketing housing prices,” according to a report.
Andreessen, 51, and his wife, the philanthropist Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, recently submitted public comments to the Atherton Town Council denouncing a plan to green-light the construction of around 130 multifamily properties in the area, according to The Atlantic.
“Subject line: IMMENSELY AGAINST multifamily development!” the email from the Andreessens to the council read.
“I am writing this letter to communicate our IMMENSE objection to the creation of multifamily overlay zones in Atherton…Please IMMEDIATELY REMOVE all multifamily overlay zoning projects from the Housing Element which will be submitted to the state in July,” the couple wrote.
“They will MASSIVELY decrease our home values, the quality of life of ourselves and our neighbors and IMMENSELY increase the noise pollution and traffic.”
Andreessen, the billionaire venture capitalist, wrote an essay in 2020 urging more housing construction in order to lower the cost of homes. Kimberly WhiteThe Atlantic reported that Atherton officials were forced to shelve the plan due to opposition from locals.
The public comment stands in stark contrast to an essay penned by the investor in 2020 in which he declared: “It’s Time to Build.”
“We can’t build nearly enough housing in our cities with surging economic potential — which results in crazily skyrocketing housing prices in places like San Francisco, making it nearly impossible for regular people to move in and take the jobs of the future,” he wrote.
Atherton officials were forced to shelve a plan to build a modest number of multifamily residences due to opposition from locals. Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAndreessen decried the fact that HBO’s “Westworld” was shot on location in Singapore because the show wanted to portray a futuristic American city.
“We should have gleaming skyscrapers and spectacular living environments in all our best cities at levels way beyond what we have now; where are they?” Andreessen wrote.
As of Monday, Forbes valued Marc Andreessen’s net worth at $1.7 billion. The Post has reached out to Andreessen seeking comment.
The median price of a home in Atherton went for $7.5 million last year. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Atherton is regarded as one of the priciest zip codes in the US. Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAndreessen made his fortune as the co-founder of Netscape and the co-author of Mosaic, the first-ever widely used web browser.
He is also a venture capitalist who helped fund unicorns such as Facebook, Airbnb, Coinbase, Pinterest, Skype, and Lyft.
Atherton was named the most expensive zip code in the US for the fifth consecutive year by the web site PropertyShark.
According to the site, the median price of a home in Atherton stood at $7.5 million last year.
California is one of the least affordable states in the country — with the lack of affordable housing cited as one of the main factors.
