Kevin O'Leary's "Wonder Valley" project, rebranded in Utah as Stratos, aimed to build what O'Leary called the world's largest data center on 40,000 acres in Box Elder County, backed by a 9-gigawatt gas plant. The deal moved through the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) and county commissioners at extraordinary speed, drawing scrutiny over water use near the shrinking Great Salt Lake, air pollution, and secretive dealmaking involving entrepreneur Austin Pritchett and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
O'Leary inflamed tensions by claiming on Fox Business that critics were linked to Chinese agents, naming local advocacy groups and individuals. He later retracted the claim, and Fox apologized on air; he and Fox were subsequently sued for defamation and have moved to dismiss the case. Commissioners approved the project after a chaotic public meeting where officials voted from a back room amid chants of "shame." Political fallout followed: Senate President Stuart Adams lost his primary, MIDA's director retired, and two commissioners were unseated. Litigation over a referendum continues, and MIDA has paused the project, with no tenant or land sales yet confirmed.
