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Inside Bill Gates’ $80BILLION property empire – including $123m mansion with a trampoline room and 60-foot swimming pool
BILL Gates’ $80 billion property empire now hangs in the balance after he and his wife of 27 years announced they are divorcing.
Properties up for grabs include a $123million mansion with a trampoline room and a $43million oceanfront mansion with a ten-person jacuzzi.
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Bill and Melinda Gates announced on Monday that they are divorcing after 27 years of marriage[/caption]
Worth $130.5 billion Gates is only of the eight people in the world worth over $100 billion and is the fourth richest man in the world.
Over the years, he has made lavish purchases which include a $40 million private airplane and a large luxury car collection.
Below are a look at the properties he picked up over the years.
‘Xanadu 2.0’
Considered to be Gates’ main home, the mega-mansion is estimated to be worth well over $100 million.
The home, located in Medina, Washington, was originally bought in 1988 for $2 million.
The 66,000-square-foot mansion took seven years to build and includes six kitchens, a trampoline room, a 60-foot swimming pool and can accommodate up to 200 people.
It is reported that there is $80,000 worth of screens inside the home.
The mega-mansion takes its name from the movie Citizen Kane where the main character, Charles Foster Kane builds a huge estate known for its splendor and size.
The home, worth $123million, has been named ‘Xanadu 2.0’[/caption]
Oceanfront home
Last year during the pandemic, Gates spent $43million on an oceanfront home near San Diego.
It was one of the largest deals recorded in the area and was owned by the former wife of Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens.
The six-bedroom home spans about 5,800-square-feet and has a 10-person jacuzzi and a long oceanfront deck.
Florida ranch
Outside of the family home in Washington, Gates owns a 4.5 acre ranch in Wellington, Florida.
He reportedly purchased the home in 2013 for $8.7million.
Gates’ daughter Jennifer is a keen equestrian and the family previously rented the home when in Florida for her competitions.
The Florida ranch was bought by the Gates family in 2018[/caption]
Rancho Paseana
In 2014, Gates purchased the 228-acre Rancho Paseana for $18million.
In front of the Santa Fe home is a racetrack that is three-qaurter-mile’s long.
The mansion used to belong to weight-loss expert Jenny Craig.
The Californian property also includes five barns and an orchard.
Buffalo Bill Cody’s ranch
In 2009, Gates reportedly bought a ranch in Wyoming that belonged to Buffalo Bill Cody.
Although the price he purchased it for has been made public, the 492-acre ranch was previously listed for $8.9 million.
Investments
Gates has also made several investments over the years through his personal investment firm, Cascade.
He reportedly owns close to half of the Four Season Holdings’ hotel chain.
Gates shares 95% of the ownership with Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
The two billionaires bought the hotel chain for $3.8billion meaning that Gates could have forked out $1.9billion for the luxury-hotel business.
In 2013, Gates along with several unnamed buyers paid $161million for the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco.
The hotel is now estimated to be worth $200million.
This year Gates became the biggest owner of agricultural land in the US after buying up 242,000 acres in 18 states, the Land Report published.
The 65-year-old’s holdings include 16,097 acres in Washington, 20,588 in Nebraska, 25,750 in Arizona, 47,927 in Arkansas, and 69,071 in Louisiana.
It is unclear as to why Gates has invested in the farmland.
Bill shares 95 percent ownership of the Four Seasons with a Saudi prince[/caption]
It was announced today that Bill and his wife Melinda are divorcing after 27 years of marriage.
The couple released a statement on Twitter, saying: “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage.”
The tech mogul added that they “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
He noted that they had raised “three incredible children” and worked to help people all over the world.
Bill and Melinda met at Microsoft. She had been a marketing manager at the software company.
Many were wondering how the Microsoft fortune would be divided after Bill and Melinda Gates announced they are getting divorced on Monday.
Gates has been open in the past about how each of his three children will only inherit $10million of his fortune, but never publicly stated whether there was a prenuptial agreement when he married Melinda.
Rumor has it the couple did sign a prenuptial agreement before tying the knot in 1994, according to a New York Times article published in 1997.
However, the details of that prenup — and confirmation that one exists — are hard to come by.
Keon Family Law alleges that Gates reportedly had his wife sign a prenup to protect Microsoft.
“After their marriage in 1994, Microsoft founder Bill Gates reportedly had his wife sign a prenuptial, perhaps in consideration of the preservation of his company and its shareholders,” their website says.
“Washington State, where Gates resides, is a community property state. In the event of divorce, absent a prenuptial agreement, half of Bill Gates 24% holdings in Microsoft could be in unfriendly hands.”
Bill has been more forthright in the past about how he plans to leave his children slightly smaller pieces of his fortune, comparitively speaking at least.
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When asked about rumors that he would only leave his three children — Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe — $10million each during a Reddit AMA session in 2013, Gates explained that it was for their benefit.
“I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favor to them,” he said.
“Warren Buffett was part of an article in Fortune talking about this in 1986 before I met him and it made me think about it and decide he was right.”
