Size of Bill Gates' homes and other prominent members of the new Forbes 400 list



Have you reviewed the latest Forbes 400: The Full List of America's Rich so far?

Surprise, Bill Gates, whose net worth is $81 billion, ranks first for the 23rd consecutive year. Meanwhile, his friend Warren Buffett slipped to third place for the first time in 15 years with a net fortune of $65.5 billion.

Thanks to the high stock prices of hot technology companies, CEOs at the top of those companies seem to be accumulating wealth at a much faster pace than others. Jeff Bezos, ceo of Amazon.com, earned $20 billion to increase his net worth to $67 billion, making him the second richest person in the United States.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg jumped to fourth place, his highest ever rating, with a net worth of $55.5 billion. However, Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, finished fifth for the first time since 2007. His net worth is $49.3 billion.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, CEO of the name Bloomberg LB, stands in sixth place with a net worth of $45 billion.

These six wealthiest billionaires earned $363.3 billion when they withdrew, most of which are still held as shares in the companies they founded. However, part of their wealth originates in real estate. Mr. Gates, for example, owns a $170 million mansion in Washington, several horse farms across the United States, and participates in some luxury hotel chains through his own investment company, Cascade.

Here, take a look at the dwellings he calls the six richest emperors in the house:

1. Bill Gates Worth: $81 Billion Home: Medina, Washington

Mr. Gates, 60, spends most of his time in his 66,000-square-foot mansion, City, Washington, aka Xanadu 2.0 after owning the title character in Citizen Kane. The palace overlooks Lake Washington. It took Mr. Gates seven years and $63.2 million to build this home full of many high-tech features. He earned $2 million in 1988, but has now been purchased for an estimated $170 million, according to public records.

2. Jeff Bezos Value: $67 Billion Home: Medina, Washington


Bezos, 52, in the process of building his own e-commerce empire, has earned a tremendous amount of real estate over the years, making him ranked 26th on The Land Report's list of America's largest landowners last year. In terms of housing, he has a 165,000-acre farm in West Texas, a waterfront home in Washington state, three connected apartments in Manhattan's Century Tower, and a 12,000-square-foot Beverly Hills that boasts Tom Cruise as a neighbor, according to Forbes.

His home in Washington, D.C., near Amazon's headquarters, houses 5.35 acres and about 29,000 square feet of living space. Apart from the main house, there is also a 4,500-square-foot care hut and boats on Lake Washington.

3. Warren Buffett Value: $65.5 billion Home: Omaha, Nebraska

Although the smartest investor on earth has multiple real estate investments, Mr. Buffett, 86, is known for living modestly.

His home is located on a corner in Omaha, Nebraska, he bought in 1958 for $31,500. Mr. Buffett has been living there ever since. Originally built in 1921, the house underwent several expansions to make it a comfortable, comfortable 6,500-square-foot home for a man with a net worth of more than $65.5 billion.

4. Mark Zuckerberg Value: $55.5 billion Home: Palo Alto, California


The youngest wealthy businessman to make most of his fortune in schools, health and other charities. His real estate portfolio includes his home in Palo Alto and 9.9 million hands in Terre near Dolores Park in San Francisco.

Mr. Zuckerberg, 32, bought his first 5,000-square-foot craft-style house in Palo Alto in 2011 for $7 million. He took four of the houses around his home in the following years for $43.8 million to keep his privacy better. But his plan to demolish and rebuild those four houses has stalled.

5. Larry Ellison Value: $49.3 billion Home: Woodside, CALIFORNIA

Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, 72, owns an extensive real estate portfolio. He bought large parts of entire neighborhoods in Malibu and around Lake Tahoe. He owns $70 million from Beechwood Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island; a garden villa in Kyoto, Japan; and 98% of Lanai Land, Hawaii's sixth largest island, he bought in 2012 for $500 million, according to published reports.

His woodside, California, property with an estimated value of $110 million, was designed along the lines of 16th-century Japanese architecture, with a 2.3-acre man-made lake.

6. Michael Bloomberg Value: $45 Billion Home: Manhattan, New York


Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 74, has more than a dozen properties worldwide. He spends most of his time at his home in Upper East side, but also owns properties in the Hamptons in New York, as well as in London, Bermuda, Colorado and Florida.

Located at 17 East 79th St., Mr. Bloomberg's house spans five floors with a limestone exterior. During his three terms as mayor, Mr. Bloomberg lived in a country house instead of Gracie Palace. However, he seems to have a plan to turn it into a huge mansion. Since 1989, he has been gradually buying units at 19 East 79th St. Of the six units in the Greek-style white building in 1880, Bloomberg now owns five of them, according to the New York Observer.