American tech billionaires look to create tech cities abroad, cut deals with foreign govs

Mark Lutter, founder of the non-profit Charter Cities Institute, which seeks to “empower new cities with better governance to lift tens of millions of people out of poverty,” explained that the decision is based on a dissatisfaction with the current political systems in the US, per the New York Post.

Oliver Janssens, a bitcoin millionaire developing a community on a Caribbean island, also spoke to the outlet about his motivations. “Playing God is the last thing I want to do. The whole point is that you don’t need a God, so to speak,” he said.

Several projects are already underway or in advanced planning stages. One is Prospera in Honduras, a gated community with roughly 1,000 residents that includes its own beach and golf course. Financing for the project has come from investor Peter Thiel and Venezuelan money manager Erick Brimen. The community operates under a unique legal structure that includes its own laws and an arbitration system in which a US-based judge rules on cases remotely.

Among those who have visited Próspera is health influencer Bryan Johnson, who traveled there for “gene therapy that might change the future of humanity.” Apartments in the community reportedly start at $120,000. Another initiative, Alpha Cities, is being planned in West Africa. Pronomos co-founder Patri Friedman, who is involved in the project, acknowledged the early stage of development.

“We’re very long on renderings and very short on everything else,” Friedman said. “We’re working with a number of countries in West Africa and signing deals to help develop the country around industry clusters,” he added. Planned industries include “things like data centers powered by geothermal power, of which there’s a huge amount in Africa, and electric vehicle manufacturing.”

Not all of the projects are overseas. California Forever is a US-based effort aimed at building a new city in California. A spokesperson told the Post the project is intended to revive the American spirit.

“It’s about restoring the California dream and the American dream,” the spokesperson said.

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen are among those backing the initiative, which has about $1 billion in funding and encompasses roughly 94 square miles. Former Goldman Sachs executive Jan Sramek is leading the project and has said construction could begin in 2027.

“We want to do that with financially attainable housing in safe and walkable neighborhoods,” a spokesperson said. “The city will have an advanced manufacturing hub for the most innovative industries like aerospace and robotics, which are designed in California. There will be a park that is larger than Central Park, and each neighborhood will be centered around a local shopping street.”