(Daily Mail) The mystery buyers of $1billion-worth of undeveloped land near a California air force base have been unmasked as tech titans – and not a network of Chinese spies as some had feared.
Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs and Linkedin co-found Reid Hoffman were named as among the buyers, who went by ‘Flannery Associates’ and have bought more than 50,000 acres of land surrounding Travis Air Force since 2018.
They are now the largest landowners in Solano County, which is about 60 miles northeast of San Francisco, which sparked concern a foreign entity was behind the purchases.
The group reportedly plans to turn their investment into their vision of an ideal city, which would be designed for pedestrians in feature sustainable energy, The New York Times reports.
Brian Brokaw, a spokesman for Flannery, told the outlet the investors are ‘Californians who believe that Solano County’s and California’s best days are ahead.’
Public records show ‘Flannery Associates’ has invested more than $800million on around 55,000 acres of land surrounding the Travis Air Force base since 2018
Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs has been named as one of the investors behind the mysterious Flannery Associates
Linkedin co-founder Reid Hoffman has also been named as one of the secretive buyers
Travis Air Force base, northeast of San Francisco, is a strategically significant base that serves as a ‘gateway’ to the Pacific Ocean
He added that the group plans to start working with Solano County residents, elected officials and Travis Air Force Base next week.
Former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek, 36, is believed to be the group’s leader. He reportedly courted the tech industry’s biggest names to join his plan for an ideal city.
Venture capitalist Marc Horowitz, Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison, former Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz and entrepreneurs Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross are also some of the owners.
It’s not clear how much each investor has contributed to the Flannery fund.
In a 2017 letter to investors obtained by the NYT, Moritz said ‘this effort should relieve some of the Silicon Valley pressures we all feel — rising home prices, homelessness, congestion etc.’
‘We are proud to partner on a project that aims to deliver good-paying jobs, affordable housing, clean energy, sustainable infrastructure, open space and a healthy environment to residents of Solano County,’ they told the Wall Street Journal.
‘We are excited to start working with residents and elected officials, as well as with Travis Air Force Base, on making that happen.’
The group has for years been making offers to landowners in the area that are several times the market rate – whether their land is for sell or not.
Former Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz said ‘this effort should relieve some of the Silicon Valley pressures we all feel — rising home prices, homelessness, congestion etc’
