Meta’s Hyperion data centre hits $50bn and splits a town

This article was published on July 13, 2026 Meta’s Hyperion data centre in rural Louisiana has quintupled from $10bn to more than $50bn in under two years. In a parish of 20,000 people, it is handing teachers $50,000 bonuses and pushing families out of their homes at the same time. Meta’s Hyperion data centre in rural Louisiana has ballooned from $10bn to more than $50bn in under two years. In a parish of 20,000 people, it has made some locals a fortune and priced others out of their homes. Meta just made its biggest AI bet bigger. On Monday the company said its Hyperion data centre in Richland Parish, Louisiana, will grow into a 5-gigawatt site costing more than $50bn. It is now Meta’s largest data centre, and one of the biggest AI projects anywhere. The number is the story. When construction began in December 2024, the price tag was $10bn. By October it was $27bn, CNBC reports, after Meta formed a joint venture with Blue Owl Capital. Now it is past $50bn. The cost has quintupled in under two years. Richland Parish has about 20,000 people and is one of the poorest in Louisiana. A project this size does not land quietly. For some, it has been a windfall. Meta says it has contracted