How Much Bill Gates and 5 Other Billionaires Paid for Their Houses
Written by
David Chang
Edited by
Gabrielle Olya
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Since the pandemic, the median sales price of a house in the United States has rocketed from $317,100 to $420,400, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — a hefty 33% rise in just four years. While this increase is good news for current homeowners, these prices are out of reach for many average Americans.
The story is a bit different for the billionaire bunch. Mansions that billionaires like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos own are pure luxury symbols. With cutting-edge technology and distinct architectural designs, these homes come with staggering price tags.
Bill Gates’ Lakefront Mansion
Bill Gates, once the world’s richest man, owns a whopping 275,000 acres, making him America’s 42nd-largest landowner. Most of it is farmland and investment-related, but he also owns 245 acres for personal use.
Bill Gates’ incredible home, “Xanadu 2.0,” is nestled in Medina, Washington, and valued at a jaw-dropping $183.5 million, per Business Insider. This 66,000-square-foot smart home features high-tech systems that track inhabitants’ locations, plus a 2,100-square-foot library with two secret bookcases and a hidden bar. Gates’s yearly property tax bill alone for this estate is $1.3 million!
Gates also owns five properties in California. One is a $43 million, 5,800-square-foot beach house in Del Mar, California, with a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean.
Jeff Bezos’ Portfolio of High-Value Estates
As the world’s second-richest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has an extensive real estate portfolio worth $578 million, according to Architectural Digest. In 2023, after years of living in Seattle, he decided to trade in the rain for the sunshine of Miami, Florida.
He bought three homes in Miami’s Indian Creek neighborhood, often called the Billionaire Bunker. This gated community was artificially created on an island in Miami-Dade County. Bezos purchased a $68 million 2.8-acre waterfront estate and the Mediterranean-style house next door for another $79 million. In 2024, he added another property in the neighborhood for $90 million. He is living in his most recent purchase while tearing down the other two and waiting for construction to finish.
His property collection includes luxurious homes and apartments scattered across Beverly Hills, Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and Maui.
Elon Musk’s Minimalist Home
Unlike other billionaires, Elon Musk opted to shed most of his physical possessions despite being the world’s richest person. Today, the only property Musk owns is a $50,000 three-bedroom, ranch-style house near his SpaceX launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas. Musk previously lived in a tiny prefabricated home, which he now uses as a guesthouse.
Musk has owned luxury properties in the past, including a mansion in Hillsborough, California, that he sold for $30 million in 2021. He also owns a Bel Air home, once owned by Gene Wilder, which is currently listed at $9.5 million.
Warren Buffett’s Modest Residence
Warren Buffett proves that billionaires don’t always live extravagantly. He has lived in the same house in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1958, which he purchased for $31,500. Buffett states that he couldn’t imagine having a better house despite being worth over $146 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Tech Mogul Hideaways
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg owns homes in Silicon Valley, Lake Tahoe and Hawaii. Zuckerberg purchased his primary residence, a 5,617-square-foot home in Palo Alto, California, for $7 million in 2011. It features five bedrooms, a saltwater pool and a banquet-size dining room.
After his marriage to Priscilla Chan in 2012, the couple purchased four more surrounding homes for $30 million to ensure their privacy. Two years later, they acquired a 700-acre estate in Kauai, Hawaii, for $100 million. The property includes an organic farm and 2,500 feet of ocean frontage. In 2021, they continued to expand by purchasing an adjacent 595.4 acres for $53 million. That same year, they snatched up another 110 acres for $17 million, bringing their Hawaiian holdings to over $170 million.
Since living in the Bay Area, the couple has spent years vacationing in Lake Tahoe. So, in 2018 and 2019, they decided to scoop up two properties in the area for a combined $59 million.
Larry Ellison’s Island Acquisition
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison’s signature purchase was the Hawaiian island of Lanai, which he bought in 2012 for $300 million. He now owns nearly 98% of the 90,000-acre island and has added hotels, farming operations and other infrastructure.
Ellison’s other notable properties include multiple estates in San Francisco, Malibu and Newport, Rhode Island. In 2018, he bought Hollywood producer Joel Silver’s home for $38 million. He has continued to purchase properties in the coastal city, buying 11 more, including $20 million for the Casa Malibu Inn in 2007.
In 2021, he joined other billionaires in Florida, paying $80 million for a premium waterfront estate in Palm Beach. A year later, he dropped a record-setting $173 million for another Florida property.
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