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Home/America COVID-19/Corona Updates/COVID-19/US Corona/Bill Gates says he'll eventually give all his wealth to his charity foundation. Here's how the Microsoft cofounder spends his $114 billion fortune, from a luxury-car collection to incredible real estate.
Bill Gates says he'll eventually give all his wealth to his charity foundation. Here's how the Microsoft cofounder spends his $114 billion fortune, from a luxury-car collection to incredible real estate.
The Microsoft co-founder tweeted that he "will move down and eventually off of the list of the world's richest people."
Gates is worth $114 billion, according to Bloomberg, and is one of only eight moguls worth over $100 billion.
Gates has made some lavish purchases over the years: He owns a Washington estate worth $125 million, a private airplane, and a luxury-car collection. More recently, he dropped $43 million on a 5,800-square-foot home in Del Mar, California. But these indulgences make up only a fraction of his massive fortune, and Gates isn't known to throw his money around.
In fact, the couple previously said it's unfair they're so rich. Instead of spending billions on themselves, they often donate it to charity through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They've also pledged to give away most of their fortune through the Giving Pledge, which they launched in 2010.
Keep reading for a look at how Gates spends his billions.
Taylor Nicole Rogers contributed to an earlier version of this story.
Bill Gates, the cofounder of Microsoft, has an estimated net worth of $130.5 billion.
Bill Gates speaking at an event in Washington, 2014.
He long held the title as the world's second-richest person until Elon Musk unseated him in November 2020.
Microsoft founder, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, on October 9, 2019.
Despite his massive fortune, Gates previously told Ellen DeGeneres that when he became a billionaire at age 31 (history's youngest billionaire at the time), he didn't go on a spending spree.
Bill Gates on "Ellen."
It's been reported that Gates owns a Bombardier BD-700 Global Express, which costs $40 million and can seat up to 19 people.
A Bombardier private jet, though not the one Gates owns.
Gates also spent a lot on his estate, Xanadu 2.0, in Medina, Washington. It took him seven years and $63 million to build. He purchased the lot for $2 million in 1988.
This aerial photograph taken on July 13 shows Bill and Melinda Gates' home in Medina, Washington which cost more than $60-million and four-years to build.
In 2017, he paid $1,041,292.55 in property taxes on it, according to public filings.
An outside deck is shown at the home of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates Tuesday, April 18, 2006, in the Seattle suburb of Medina, WA.
Devices worth $150,000 can display different paintings or photographs on the screens at a single touch. However, there are real paintings on the wall as well — like the Winslow Homer painting Gates purchased for $36 million in 1988.
That's not to mention the 2,100-square-foot library, home to a 16th-century Leonardo da Vinci manuscript that Gates bought at auction for $30 million in 1994.
Gates reportedly pays to have sand imported from St. Lucia in the Caribbean to the shore surrounding his house.
Kids play in the water on the beach of Rodney Bay in St. Lucia.
It's perfect for Gates, an avid luxury-car collector. His first big splurge after founding Microsoft was a Porsche 911 supercar, he told DeGeneres. He later sold it, and it was auctioned for $80,000.
A Porsche 911.
Outside of his Washington pad, Gates also has a 4.5-acre vacation ranch in Wellington, Florida, with a 12,864-square-foot mansion. He reportedly dropped $27 million to buy a whole string of properties in the area. The area is hotspot for wealthy equestrians.
Horses in a corral, though not at Gates' ranch.
He added to his California real estate portfolio in 2020, dropping $43 million on an oceanfront home in Del Mar, California. It has six bedrooms, a 10-person Jacuzzi, and a swimming pool.
Del Mar, California.
But Gates' real-estate portfolio doesn't end there.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
He's made numerous investments through his personal investment firm, Cascade, including partial ownership of Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He reportedly owns nearly half of the Four Season Holdings' hotel chain through Cascade, including hotels in Atlanta and Houston. Gates shares 95% ownership with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia.
When he's not busy buying real estate or working, Gates needs a vacation or two to unwind. He's traveled to Australia and Croatia ...
Baska Voda, a tourist town on the Makarska Riviera, Dalmatia, Croatia.
He's also treated his family to a Mediterranean vacation on board the 439-foot superyacht Serene, which he chartered for $5 million a week. It included a helicopter.
The superyacht Serene is pictured at Auckland's Wynyard Wharf in Auckland, New Zealand.
But Gates' splurges are only a fraction of his massive fortune. He previously told The Telegraph, "I have no use for money." Instead, he often donates to or invests his money in good causes.
Gates previously invested in Amyris, a synthetic-biology company that originally produced precursors to malaria drugs and hydrocarbon-based biofuel. Today, it focuses on health through fragrances, skincare, and sweetener.
Bill Gates speaks ahead of former U.S. President Barack Obama at the Gates Foundation Inaugural Goalkeepers event on September 20, 2017 in New York City.
He continued these efforts by recently investing $30 million with a group of investors into the Diagnostics Accelerator, a "venture philanthropy" fund to diagnose Alzheimer's earlier.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2017.
Gates and Melinda have been huge on philanthropy. They were recently named the most generous philanthropists in the US by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, having donated more than $36 billion to charitable causes through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates agreed to give away most of his fortune through the Giving Pledge, which he launched in 2010.
Melinda (L) and Bill Gates attend a session at the Congress Center during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting on January 23, 2015 in Davos.
The Gateses have spent money traveling for their charity work. They donated more than $2 billion in 2016 to causes related to global health and development and US education. In 2017, they donated $4.78 billion, mostly to projects run by the Gates Foundation.
They've pledged about $2 billion to defeat malaria, donated more than $50 million to fight Ebola, and pledged $38 million to a Japanese pharmaceutical company working to create a low-cost polio vaccine.
A girl gets inoculated with an Ebola vaccine on November 22, 2019 in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Gates Foundation has also committed at least $2.5 billion to the GAVI Alliance, which works to improve access to vaccines in poor countries.
A nurse prepares the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in 2019.
Throughout 2020, the Gates Foundation was active in the global COVID-19 response, pledging $100 million to help fight the pandemic. A major portion of those funds were used for vaccine development.
A patient receives an injection of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
When it comes to the future of his fortune, Gates is leaving $10 million to each of his children, a fraction of his net worth.
Bill Gates with his daughter, Jennifer, and his wife, Melinda.
He reiterated in July 2022 that he plans to give virtually all his wealth to his and French Gates' organization, stating that he'll eventually fall off the list of the world's richest figures.
Bill Gates attended the 2022 TIME 100 Gala on June 08, 2022 in New York City.
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