With a net worth of $82.2 billion, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is the richest man in America. It shouldn’t be too surprising that one of the wealthiest people in the world also has an insanely extravagant home.
The Bill Gates’ house, called Xanadu 2.0, is spread across 66,000 square feet and contains a collection of rare manuscripts, one of which is written by Leonardo Da Vinci, and it alone is worth $8 million. Xanadu 2.0 was built using half a million wood logs, and if sold today, it will earn Gates over $145 million.
It took Gates seven years and $63 million to build his Medina, Washington, estate, named “Xanadu 2.0” after the fictional home of Charles Foster Kane, the title character of “Citizen Kane.”
At 66,000 square feet, the home is absolutely massive, and it’s loaded to the brim with high-tech details.
1) 7 Bedrooms: The house has got only 7 bedrooms. That sounds a bit weird regarding the massive area of the estate, but then what could Gates use 30 bedrooms for?
2) Kitchens: There are 6 kitchens in Bill Gates’ house and 24 bathrooms, 10 of which contain bathtubs.
3) Reception Hall: A Reception hall that can accommodate up to 200 guests, with a 22-foot-video screen on one wall and a 6 feet-wide limestone fireplace on the adjacent wall.
4) Swimming Pool:
An entire building, with a total area of 3,900 square feet, was constructed to encompass the 60-foot-long pool. There is a glass wall which one could swim under to reach the terrace outside. Moreover, there is an underwater sound system to listen to your favorite pieces of music while swimming.
5) Garages:
There are several garages at different locations around the premises. The coolest one is an underground garage that can take up to 10 cars and is made out of concrete and stainless steel. An artistic concept is behind the intentionally broken concrete. This is one part of the house that is not open to the public and not many people have seen it.
6) Artificial Stream: Runoff issues that could occur in the future, due to the giant walls of the mansion, are addressed creatively by introducing an artificial stream. See the Trout and the Salmon swimming over there?
7) Artworks: Do you ever get bored from the paintings hanging on your wall? Well, Gates never does, with his $80,000 worth of screens installed all around the mansion. The display on the screens can be changed to the desired painting, photo, or artwork. The storage devices that were installed to store the Gates’ favorite collection of artworks, alone, cost $150,000.
8) Environment-friendly house: Bill Gates’ house is environmentally friendly. It is earth-sheltered, which means that it maintains a steady indoor temperature. Also, tall trees are planted all around the premises to safeguard the residence against heat loss.
9) Pool with underwater music system: The 60-foot pool is in its own separate, 3,900-square-foot building — the large brown building in the photo above. People in the pool could swim underneath a glass wall to come up to a terrace area on the outside.
There’s also a locker room with four showers and two baths.
