With billionaire couple Melinda Gates and Bill Gates announcing their decision to end their 27-year-old marriage, there is a lot of speculation on how the duo would divide their fortune. Their huge wealth, a large part of which they have accumulated through the course of their long marriage, only complicates the decision-making. Bill Gates, who co-founded technology giant Microsoft, is ranked number four on the Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest individuals. Bill Gates net worth is an estimated $130.5 billion.
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The sheer amount of wealth they together possess and the tremendous force they have become in the world of charity, means that the Gates’ divorce, apart from its ramifications on their personal lives and family, will also have a huge impact on the business and philanthropy world. Even though the Gates said they have reached an agreement on how to divide their marital assets, while filing a joint petition for dissolution of their marriage on May 4, 2021, no details of that accord were disclosed in the filing.
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Bill Gates real estate assets
At one point, Bill Gates was ranked the richest person in the world by Forbes. Gates is heavily invested in real estate, in addition to the stock market and other ventures. According to Wealth-X, Gates has a real estate portfolio worth over $166 million in total. In real estate, his investments are divided between residential and commercial properties, some of which are listed below.
Note here that under the Washington state’s community property law, assets acquired through the course of a marriage are joint property and are divided equally between spouses, in the event of a divorce.
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Gates’ current home: Xanadu 2.0
Located at Medina, Washington, this ocean-side custom mansion with six kitchens, six fireplaces and 24 bathrooms. It has a private waterfront to Lake Washington that flows between Seattle and its east side suburbs, including Redmond, where the Microsoft headquarters is situated.
After buying it for $2 million in 1988, Gates spent $63 million and seven years in building the 66,000 sq ft estate. The property is currently worth $130.8 million. Gates reportedly paid nearly $1,041,293 in property taxes in 2017, for this property.
Bill Gates’ private island: Grand Bogue Caye
Gates owns Grand Bogue Caye, a 314-acre island off the coast of Belize in Central America. He bought the island for over $25 million.
Bill Gates’ ranch in Wellington
Gates purchased the 4.5-acre vacation ranch in Wellington, Florida that also houses a 12,864-sq ft mansion for $27 million. Its current worth is estimated to be $55 million.
Bill Gates’ ranch in California
The 228-acre Rancho Paseana property, which boasts a racetrack, an orchard and five barns was bought for $18 million.
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Bill Gates’s ranch in Wyoming
This 492-acre ranch was reportedly purchased for $8.9 million in 2009.
Bill Gates’ commercial properties
Bill Gates has invested in various high-profile commercial properties through his personal investment company, Cascade. While he owns nearly half of the Four Season Holding’s hotel chain through Cascade, he also has partial ownership of Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Along with many other unnamed buyers, Gates paid $161 million in 2013 for the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco.
(Header image source Wikimedia Commons)
