- Bill Gates loves his $130 million Lake Washington megahome so much that he’s not willing to downsize. And it’s proved to be a good investment—the billionaire baby boomer coughed up just $2 million for the mansion in 1988, and turned it into a luxe playground.
Bill Gates’ megamansion, dubbed Xanadu 2.0 in reference to Citizen Kane, is exactly the opulence you would expect a billionaire to live in. The 66,000 square-foot mansion in Lake Washington has six kitchens, 24 bathrooms, a trampoline room, indoor pool, sports courts, sauna—and oddly, just seven bedrooms.
But since 2021, Gates has been an empty nester and single—after his 27-year long marriage to Melinda French Gates ended—and it would be easy to presume downsizing from his lavish compound is in the cards. However, he’s not parting from his megahome anytime soon.
“My house in Seattle, I admit, is gigantic. My sisters have downsized. I can’t. I like the houses I have,” Gates recently told the Times. “My kids like to come back—that is a luxury. I don’t cook, I don’t make my own bed, but I don’t mind if no one has made it—I wouldn’t notice.”
Why Gates won’t give up his $130 million megamansion
There are a few reasons why the 69-year-old Microsoft alum, and former richest man in the world, isn’t looking to move to a smaller house. For one, Xanadu 2.0 might be one of Gates’ best investments.
He bought the lakeside property in 1988 for $2 million, and Fortune now estimates the estate is worth $130 million.
The billionaire’s mansion was also specially crafted to meet his lifestyle. He poured $63 million and seven years of renovations into the mansion to make sure everything was just right.
In a 2008 interview with Fortune, Melinda described the house as “a bachelor’s dream and a bride’s nightmare.” She even considered not moving in.
But for Bill, the mansion was a billionaire’s playground; he could skim the spines of rare books in the private library, or jam out in the 17-by-60-foot swimming pool with its own underwater music system.
Xanadu 2.0 is a far cry from the humble middle-class home Gates was raised in. But for the retired businessman, estimated to be worth $166 billion, the megamansion is his new normal.
Billionaires say their beloved estates are the best investment
Gates isn’t the only tycoon who loves his house and couldn’t imagine giving it up. Warren Buffett, the investor mogul with a net worth of $147 billion, won’t part from his Omaha home either.
The Berkshire Hathaway chief and his wife Susan bought the five-bedroom house for just $31,500 in 1958, and decades later, it’s now worth around $1.4 million.
The property is pretty modest in comparison to Gates’ flashy estate, with just over 7,000 square feet of space, but no underwater sound systems or indoor trampoline room. But the famously frugal billionaire said he “wouldn’t trade it for anything” because of the fond memories the walls hold.
“All things considered, the third best investment I ever made was the purchase of my home,” he wrote in a 2010 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. “For the $31,500 I paid for our house, my family and I gained 52 years of terrific memories with more to come.”
