Have you checked the newest “Forbes 400: The Full List of The Richest People in
America” yet?
Surprise, Bill Gates, with a net worth of $81 billion, is ranked No. 1
for the 23rd year running. Meanwhile, his friend Warren Buffett fell to
third place for the first time in 15 years with a net worth of $65.5
billion.
Thanks to soaring stock prices of hot tech firms, CEOs at the helm of
those companies seem to have been accumulating wealth at a much faster
pace than others. Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos gained $20 billion to boost
his net worth to $67 billion, making him the second-richest person in
the U.S.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg jumped into fourth place, his highest
rank ever, with a net worth of $55.5 billion. However, Oracle founder
Larry Ellison landed at No. 5 for the first time since 2007. His net
worth is $49.3 billion.
Standing on the No. 6 spot is former New York City Mayor Michael
Bloomberg, CEO of the eponymous firm Bloomberg L.P., who has a net worth
of $45 billion.
These six richest multi-billionaires have a combined $363.3 billion
at their withdrawal, most of which is still held as stakes in the
companies they founded. However, part of their fortune is vested in real
estate. Mr. Gates, for one, owns a Washington mansion worth about $170
million, several horse ranches across the U.S. and shares in some luxury
hotel chains through his private investment firm, Cascade.
Here, take a look at the residences the six richest moguls call home:
1. Bill Gates
Worth: $81 billion
Home: Medina, Washington
Worth: $81 billion
Home: Medina, Washington
Mr. Gates, 60, spends most of his time at his 66,000-square-foot
Medina, Washington, mansion, nicknamed Xanadu 2.0 after the title
character’s estate in Citizen Kane. The mansion overlooks Lake
Washington. It took Mr. Gates seven years and $63.2 million to build
this house, which is filled with lots of high-tech features. He
purchased the lot for $2 million in 1988, but it’s now worth an
estimated $170 million, according to public records.
2. Jeff Bezos
Worth: $67 billion
Home: Medina, Washington
Worth: $67 billion
Home: Medina, Washington
Mr. Bezos, 52, in the process of building his e-commerce empire,
scooped up a vast amount of real properties over the years, earning him
the No. 26 spot on The Land Report’s list of America’s largest
landowners last year. In terms of residences, he has a 165,000-acre
ranch in West Texas, a waterfront house in Washington state, three
linked apartments in Manhattan’s Century Tower, and a 12,000-square-foot
Beverly Hills estate that boasts Tom Cruise as a neighbor, according to
Forbes.
His home at Medina, Washington, close to Amazon’s headquarters,
boasts 5.35 acres and about 29,000 square-foot of living space. Aside
from the main home, there’s also a caretaker’s cottage and a
4,500-square-foot boathouse on Lake Washington.
3. Warren Buffett
Worth: $65.5 billion
Home: Omaha, Nebraska
Worth: $65.5 billion
Home: Omaha, Nebraska
Although the shrewdest investor on earth holds multiple real estate investments, Mr. Buffett, 86, is known for living humbly.
His home sits on a corner in Omaha, Nebraska, which he bought in 1958
for $31,500. Mr. Buffett has lived there ever since. The house,
originally built in 1921, underwent several expansions to make it a cozy
and comfortable 6,500-square-foot home for the man who has a net worth
of over $65.5 billion.
4. Mark Zuckerberg
Worth: $55.5 billion
Home: Palo Alto, California
Worth: $55.5 billion
Home: Palo Alto, California
The youngest richest entrepreneur docks most of his wealth in
schools, health and other philanthropies. His real estate portfolio
include his home in Palo Alto and a 9.9-million pied-a-terre near
Dolores Park in San Francisco.
Mr. Zuckerberg, 32, purchased his first Craftsman-style
5,000-square-foot home in Palo Alto in 2011 for $7 million. He snapped
up four of the houses surrounding his home in the following years for
about $43.8 million to better keep his privacy. But his plan to tear
down and rebuild those four homes has been stalled.
5. Larry Ellison
Worth: $49.3 billion
Home: Woodside, California
Worth: $49.3 billion
Home: Woodside, California
Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison, 72, has an extensive real
estate portfolio. He has bought up large parts of whole neighborhoods in
Malibu and around Lake Tahoe. He owns a $70-million Beechwood Mansion
in Newport, Rhode Island; a garden villa in Kyoto, Japan; and 98% of the
land of Lanai, Hawaii’s sixth-largest island, which he purchased in
2012 for $500 million, according to published reports.
His estate in Woodside, California, with an estimated value of $110
million, is modeled after 16th-century Japanese architecture, complete
with a man-made 2.3-acre lake.
6. Michael Bloomberg
Worth: $45 billion
Home: Manhattan, New York
Worth: $45 billion
Home: Manhattan, New York
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 74, has more than a
dozen of properties worldwide. He spends most of his time at his Upper
Estate Side townhouse, but he also owns estates in the Hamptons in New
York, as well as in London, Bermuda, Colorado and Florida.
Mr. Bloomberg’s townhouse, located at 17 East 79th St., spans five
stories with a limestone exterior. During his three terms as mayor, Mr.
Bloomberg lived in the townhouse instead of Gracie Mansion. However, he
apparently has a plan to turn it into a mega-mansion. Since 1989, he has
been gradually buying up units at 19 East 79th St., the townhouse co-op
that’s right next door to his current residence. Out of the six units
in the white 1880 Greek-revival-style building, Bloomberg now owns five
of them, according to The New York Observer.
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