Bill Gates may be the fifth richest person in the world, but he doesn't plan on staying that way forever.
The Microsoft co-founder says he will be “down and eventually off the list of the world's richest people” in 2022, and plans to “effectively” donate all his money to charity. said.
Gates is worth $153 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him one of the few tycoons to have reached the status of a cent-billionaire.
Gates has been a lavish spender for years, owning $183.5 million worth of Washington real estate, a private plane, and a collection of luxury cars. But these indulgences are just a small part of his vast fortune, and Gates is not known to be a spendthrift.
Gates also donates money to philanthropy through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and has donated most of his fortune through the Giving Pledge, which he founded in 2010 with his ex-wife Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett. I swore that I would.
Let's take a look at how Gates spent his billions.
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, has an estimated net worth of $153 billion.
Gates was the world's second-richest person for a long time until Elon Musk overtook him in November 2020.
Gates is currently the fifth richest person in the world and a member of the exclusive club of centi-billionaires (people with a fortune of more than $100 billion).
Gates has invested in a variety of stocks and assets and, along with 20 others, launched a $1 billion investment fund called Breakthrough Energy.
Despite his vast wealth, Gates previously told Ellen DeGeneres that he didn't spend extravagantly when he became a billionaire at the age of 31 (then the youngest billionaire in history). .
But over time, he said, he has indulged in things like private planes.
Gates reportedly owns a Bombardier BD-700 Global Express, which can seat up to 19 people.
Gates also spent a lot of money on his property, Xanadu 2.0, in Medina, Washington. It reportedly took seven years and $63 million to build.
Mr. Gates owns at least 12 parcels of approximately 10.5 acres that he purchased between 1988 and 2009 for approximately $34 million. In total, the mansion and lot have a combined appraised value of approximately $183.5 million.
In 2023, property taxes on Gates' Medina property could reach up to $1.3 million.
Gates' residence includes a 60-foot pool with an underwater sound system in a separate 3,900-square-foot building.
Gates reportedly paid for sand to be imported from St. Lucia in the Caribbean to the beaches around his home.
There's also a 2,100-square-foot library that houses a 16th-century Leonardo da Vinci manuscript that Gates bought at auction in 1994 for $30 million.
Several display screens have been installed on the walls of Gate's home that can display various paintings and photographs. However, there are also real paintings on the walls. For example, the Winslow Homer painting that Gates bought for his $36 million in 1988.
Gates' home includes six kitchens, 24 bathrooms, a 20-person home theater, and a versatile garage that can accommodate 23 cars.
Gates is an avid luxury car collector.
He told DeGeneres that his first splurge after starting Microsoft was a Porsche 911 supercar. He purchased this car in his 1979. He later sold it and was sold at auction for $80,000.
But that wasn't Gates' last Porsche. He also has a Porsche 959 in his car collection.
In addition to his Washington location, Gates also owns a 20-acre property in Wellington, Florida.
The property includes at least two residences, one on a 6,668-square-foot lot and one on a 5,716-square-foot lot. He bought the properties over three years for about $35 million.
His daughter, Jennifer Gates Nassar, is an accomplished equestrian and he purchased this property to support her passion. It serves as the home of her equestrian facility, and the area is also a hotspot for many other wealthy equestrians.
In California, Gates owns 228 acres of Rancho Paseana, which he purchased for $18 million.
At the time he bought it, the property included a racetrack, an olive grove, and five barns.
He added to his California real estate portfolio in 2020, dropping $43 million on a beach house in Del Mar, California.
Features a 10-person Jacuzzi and 120 feet of Pacific coastline.
Gates also owns a six-bedroom home on the grounds of the famous Vintage Club in Indian Wells.
There is also another home on the grounds of the Santa Luce Club, a San Diego country club, as well as a home at the Del Mar Country Club, which is now owned solely by either Bill or his ex-wife Melinda French Gates after their divorce. It's likely, but it's not clear which one.
Gates also purchased property at the Yellowstone Club in Montana.
The main house is 6,993 square feet and includes eight full bathrooms, eight bedrooms, a sauna and a home theater, according to property records. Supposedly, either he or French Gates owns the house after the divorce.
Buffalo Bill also reportedly spent $9 million in 2009 on a 492-acre ranch in Wyoming that he named after his first daughter, but he is no longer affiliated with the property.
Gates is one of the country's largest private landowners, owning more than 250,000 acres, much of it farmland, according to The Land Report.
He has made numerous investments through his private investment firm, Cascade, including a partial ownership interest in the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The deal announced in 2021 gave him approximately 71.25% ownership in the Four Seasons hotel chain.
In 2013, Gates and several anonymous buyers paid $161 million for the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco.
Gates also takes luxurious vacations.
Gates said in 2019 that he “doesn't believe in” taking weekends or vacations for most of his time at Microsoft, but he has taken some fancy trips.
In 2014, he took his family on a Mediterranean vacation on the 439-foot superyacht Celine, which he chartered for $5 million a week. That included a helicopter.
He has also traveled to Australia, Croatia, Belize and the Brazilian Amazon.
He has previously said that he likes tennis and skiing. He was also spotted watching a tennis match.
But Gates' off-time isn't always so adventurous. He is an avid reader. He's also an “avid bridge player,” as he told Reddit at a 2013 AMA.
But Gates' splurge is only a fraction of his vast fortune.
Gates is known for his philanthropy.
“I have no use for the money,” Bill Gates told the Telegraph in 2013. But he often talks about donating to charity and investing in health care.
Amyris was founded in 2003 with a grant from Bill and Melinda. Amyris originally produced precursors for malaria drugs and hydrocarbon-based biofuels, but the company also used its technology in fragrances, skin care, sweeteners, and more. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023.
In November 2017, Gates invested $50 million in Alzheimer's disease research.
He continued these efforts in 2018, investing $30 million with a group of investors into Diagnostics Accelerator, a “venture philanthropy” fund aimed at diagnosing Alzheimer's disease early.
Gates is frequently listed as one of America's most generous philanthropists by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Gates has vowed to give away most of his wealth through the Giving Pledge, which he helped launch in 2010.
Gates and his ex-wife have donated about $2 billion to eradicate malaria, more than $50 million to fight Ebola, and pledged $38 million to a Japanese pharmaceutical company working to develop a low-cost polio vaccine.
Amid the pandemic, their foundation announced a $1.6 billion commitment over five years to Gavi, the vaccine alliance, to bring vaccines to the world's poorest countries.
The Gates Foundation also gives to education through the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, a $1.6 billion initiative.
The Foundation has disbursed $77.6 billion in grants from its inception through the fourth quarter of 2023, bringing Bill and Melinda's total contributions to the Foundation during this period to a total of $59.5 billion.
The 2024 budget is $8.6 billion, and the foundation is targeting an annual budget of $9 billion by 2026.
Regarding the future of his fortune, Gates said he plans to leave $10 million, a portion of his net worth, to his children.
In July 2022, he reiterated his plans to donate virtually all of his wealth to his and French Gates' organizations, and said he would eventually be removed from the list of the world's richest people.