Bill Gates added some European influence to his real estate portfolio after splashing $60million on the Historic Portofino Castle in Italy.
The Microsoft founder, 67, bought Portofino Castle in the Liguria area of Northern Italy through his Four Seasons real-estate company.
Gates, the fourth-richest man in the world, had purchased the real-estate company from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal after buying half of Alaweed’s Kingdom Holding Company’s prior 47.5 percent stake for $2.21 billion in 2021.
Local newspaper Il Secolo XIX reported the billionaire bought the ‘Castello’ Property – which is reportedly the most prestigious property in the village.
The castle is currently split into 12 mini-apartments but Gates’s aim is to turn the European property goldmine into a luxury hotel, but environmental constraints will make this difficult, according to Il Secolo XIX.
Bill Gates just bought the historic Portofino Castle in the Liguria area of Northern Italy, according to local newspaper Il Secolo XIX
The stunning property – previously known as ‘Castello di San Giorgio’ cost Gates around $60 million
The billionaire bought the castle through his ownership of Four Seasons and plans to turn the property – which is currently split into 12 mini apartments – into a luxury hotel
Gates purchased the historic castle for around $60million from a Genoese insurance company.
The 12,917 square-foot property – previously known as Castello di San Giorgio – has a private lift that drops guests directly onto the picturesque beaches surrounding the harbor of Portofino.
The castle’s site was historically used for military defense during the Roman Times and was abandoned when the region because peaceful in the early 19th century. Decades later it was purchased by an English diplomat who turned it into a luxurious villa.
Portofino – a popular tourist destination – is a town clustered around its small harbor and is known for all of the colorful buildings that scatter along the shore.
This isn’t the first historic Italian landmark that Gates has splurged on. In June 2022, he bought the Palazzo Marini in Rome through his ownership of Four Seasons to convert into a six-star hotel.
The building boasts an envious location for attracting tourists, located not far from the famed Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the Via Condotti, the center of fashion shopping in Rome.
Four Seasons will face a major project in converting the sprawling Palazzo Marini into Rome’s first six-star hotel.
Gates owns a $12.5 million Indian Wells mansion is located in the exclusive Vintage Club in Indian Wells, California, which requires a $250,000 membership fee. The house – which he purchased in 1990 – has six bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a guitar-shaped pool
The luxury hotel and resort company planned to spend $120 million renovating the building, according to the purchase papers reported by the Daily Beast, which are only visible in person at Rome’s city hall.
The company announced in January 2022 it had more than 50 new projects under planning or development, including in Italy, Spain, China, Japan, Colombia, Belize and across key markets in the US.
While Gates used his recent Four Seasons ownership to expand his real estate empire outside of the US, his national property portfolio is already impressive.
His primary residence is the $131 million home he owns in Medina, Washington, that expands across 66,000 square feet and took seven years to build.
The property is nicknamed Xanadu 2.0 and features a trampoline room, an artificial stream, six kitchens, a 60-foot swimming pool and a dining hall with a 200 person capacity, according to Forbes.
The 66,000-square-foot mansion overlooks Lake Washington in Medina, nine miles out of downtown Seattle – where The Gates Foundation has its headquarters. The home has an indoor-outdoor pool with an underwater music system and fossil designs on the floor, plus an ancient fossil imprint of a palm frond behind the diving board.
In the five-acre plot, there is an artificial stream stocked with salmon and cut-throat trout, and a beach with sand imported, according to some, from the Caribbean. Inside the seven bedroom mansion, with a reported 18 bathrooms, is an art deco home cinema with seating for 20, and a 1,000-square-foot dining room with seating for 24.
The 2,100-square-foot library includes two secret pivoting bookcases, one of which contains a bar. A special nook has been constructed to display one of Gates’s most prized possessions – a scientific notebook kept by Leonardo da Vinci in the early 1500s, called the Codex. Gates bought it at auction in 1994 for $30 million.
His $12.5 million Indian Wells mansion is located in the exclusive Vintage Club in Indian Wells, California, which requires a $250,000 membership fee. The house – that was purchased in 1990 – has six bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a guitar-shaped pool.
The Microsoft founder owns property at the Yellowstone Club in Montana. He paid an undisclosed amount to secure his spot on the Montana estate – but the membership alone is a whopping $300,000
The billionaire and his ex-wife Melinda shared a $43 million beach house in Del Mar, California, but the property has since become Gates’ bachelor pad after the couple divorced
Gates purchased a beach house just outside of San Diego with his then-wife, fellow philanthropist Melinda Gates. The oceanfront mansion in Del Mar, California, dropped $43 million on the second most expensive house in the history of San Diego County.
The state-of-the-art beach house was designed by world-renowned architect Ken Rochetti and featured six bedrooms and 3.5 baths.
The 5,800-square-foot property had a four-car garage, a vast oceanfront deck, a glass tile swimming pool and a huge jacuzzi.
The San Diego beach house became the site of controversy after Bill decided to gut the entire house in the wake of his divorce with Melinda. Neighbors claimed that Gates’ around the clock renovations were disturbing them and branded the billionaire a ‘nuisance’.
Gates is a proud owner of an estate in the exclusive Yellowstone Club community. Other members of the swanky private club include Justin Bieber and couple Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel.
The Microsoft founder paid an undisclosed amount to secure his spot on the Montana estate – but the membership alone is a whopping $300,000.
