10 Most Expensive Homes Of Tech Icons
Bangalore: Tech icons like Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Sergey Brin, Larry Page and others have huge stash of money. Some of them flaunt it with massive yachts, sleek cars, and over-the-top homes. When it comes to homes, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' one has a pool with an underwater sound system, Square CEO Jack Dorsey's place has a 20-foot retractable glass roof, and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has his own Hawaiian island. Read on to know 10 most expensive homes owned by tech icons as compiled by Business Inside.
#10 Steve Wozniak's original Apple abode
Estimated home value: $4.4 million
Title: Co-founder, Apple
The Apple’s co-founder, Steve Wozniak owns a beautiful house at Los Gatos, California, U.S. It was constructed in 1986; hit the market this spring for almost $4.5 million, according to the New York Daily News.
It's a six-bed, six-bath mega mansion of 7,500 square feet with gorgeous views of the Los Gatos Mountains, stained glass accents, and an outdoor pool with a cascading waterfall. In 2006 it got a major facelift, updating a lot of features but keeping the original contemporary designs.
#9 Marissa Mayer's Palo Alto place
Estimated home value: $5.3 million
Title: CEO, Yahoo
The CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, lives in a surprisingly modest home for someone of her stature. Her home in Palo Alto, which was built in 2006, is worth about $5.3 million, according to the Santa Clara County assessor's office.
Mayer also has a $5 million penthouse on the 38th floor of the Four Seasons in San Francisco.It is a six bedroom house with outdoor patio, and large backyard.
#8 Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook home
Estimated home value: $7.3 million
Title: Founder and CEO, Facebook
Zuckerberg bought a $7 million home in Menlo Park near Facebook's headquarters in 2011. It has five bedrooms, a saltwater pool, a big sun room, and a huge porch and yard. Today, Zuckerberg's home is worth an estimated $7.3 million, according to the Santa Clara County Assessor.
According to The San Francisco Chronicle the house has recently got a facelift. The new additions include, an office, a media room, a laundry room, a wet bar and a mud room are some of the additions that are being made in the first floor. The landscape is being reconfigured and a greenhouse will also be added.
#7 Jack Dorsey's open sky dwelling
Estimated home value: $10.2 million
Title: Founder and CEO, Square; Founder, Twitter
In February of last year, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey bought a house on El Camino Del Mar in San Francisco for $9.9 million. Though it was listed for $18 million, because of a price cut, bought for reduced rate, it would make it the most expensive two-bedroom house in San Francisco at that time. The San Francisco Assessor's office currently values the home at $10.2 million.
It is a 3,700-square-foot home was built in 1965. It is laid with Brazilian wood cabinetry, picturesque views of the Golden Gate Bridge, facing sea, and has amazing a 20-foot retractable glass roof the opens up for viewing the wonders of sky.
#6 Sergey Brin's exquisite West Village apartment
Estimated home value: $13 million
Title: Co-founder, Google
Brin bought four-bedroom penthouse with a 23-foot balcony in 2008 for $8.5 million. One of the most extravagant features in the West Village apartment may be the limestone bath, which comes equipped with heated floors.
"With just five 'neighbors' in the building, and being the penthouse of a relatively new structure on one of the West Village’s hottest blocks, Brin’s apartment, it is likely worth more than $13 million," said Nick Jabbour, Senior Vice President at Nest Seekers International. "The tech industry has really embraced the West Village and Chelsea, and executives within the tech sector have taken a part in the skyrocketing values of these neighborhoods."
#5 Larry Page's modest Palo Alto house
Estimated home value: $15.2 million
Title: Co-founder and CEO, Google
The CEO of the search giant may not be as extravagant as some of the others on this list. His 8,000+ square foot home in Palo Alto sits at the end of a dead-end street. It is a six bedroom house. Page bought the place in 2005 for about $7 million, and the value has now more than doubled, according to Curbed.
He then built another house on same property says and it is an eco-friendly, 6,000-square-foot mansion, with an elevator, solar panels, a rooftop garden, and parking lot with pervious pavement.
#4 Eric Schmidt's Spanish-style casa
Estimated home value: $21.3 million
Title: Executive Chairman, Google
Google’s boss owns more expensive house than the founders of the company. He bought 7,000+ square foot home in Montecito, California from comedian Ellen DeGeneres and actress Portia Di Rossi for a reported $20 million in 2007. The Santa Barbara County assessor's office evaluates the property and improvements to be worth $21.3 million for the current tax year.
It is a five bedrooms house, has a lush, green garden. It's the perfect setting for parties and weddings, and reason why he out the place for private events, like Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries' wedding in 2011.
#3 Jeff Bezos' Beverly Hills palace
Estimated home value: $26.7 million
Title: Founder and CEO, Amazon.com
The CEO of the world’s largest e-commerce site owns seven bedrooms house on almost 12,000 square feet. The house has a pool, sunken tennis court, gym, greenhouse, and a separate guesthouse that spans more than two acres. And Bezos can have some Hollywood fun since Tom Cruise is his neighbor.
According to the Los Angeles County assessor records, the property plus improvements totals $26.7 million.
#2 Michael Dell's Hawaiian "Raptor Residence"
Estimated home value: $58.4 million
Title: Founder and CEO, Dell
Dell lives in a house, "The Castle," in Austin, Texas. But he also owns a gorgeous tropical paradise in the gated community of Kukio, Hawaii, where he spends holidays. "Raptor Residence," as it's known, is a 18,500-square-foot, seven bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bath home situated on 189,704 square feet of prime waterfront land.
The County of Hawaii assessor's office valued the home at just over $58 million for the 2013 tax year.
#1 Bill Gates' futuristic Xanadu 2.0
Estimated home value: $121 million
Title: Co-founder and Chairman, Microsoft
World’s richest man and founder of Microsoft, has nicknamed his house as Xanadu 2.0, it is in Medina, Washington. It is a 66,000 square feet with futuristic features like a pool with an underwater sound system, a 2,500-square-foot gym, a library and domed reading room, an Art Deco-style theater, and heated floors.
U.S. News reported that guests wear computerized pins that the house can actually read, and then adjust music, lighting and climate settings to each guest's preference. The house reportedly took seven years to build and cost $63 million. Based on King County public records from the 2012 tax year, Gates's property is valued at about $121 million.
