Facebook billionaire Sean Parker fined for defacing redwood grove in lavish wedding debacle

Sure, being a billionaire affords you certain privileges unknown to mere mortals, but sometimes people go too far. The Atlantic reports on Silicon Valley investor and onetime Facebook president Sean Parker’s $10 million wedding in a redwood grove in California’s Big Sur. According to a California Coastal Commission report, Parker entered into an agreement with a hotel owner in the area for private use of the grove before building makeshift roads, a pond, and fake stone ruins (pictured above) on the site. Parker didn’t get proper permission or implement the necessary safeguards to avoid damaging the natural surroundings during the build-out, and ended up paying $2.5 million in penalties to make up for the wrongdoing.