The Seattle-area billionaire couple Bill and Melinda Gates recently announced that they are divorcing. Bill Gates was formerly the world’s richest person. His fortune is estimated at well over $100 billion. Here is a look at their lake waterfront house nicknamed Xanadu 2.0, worth around $131 million. According to media reports, Melinda Gates suggested in one of the interviews she had not thought of the expansive property as her forever home: "I'm actually really looking forward to the day that Bill and I live in a 1,500-square-foot house."
Why the name Xanadu 2.0?
It refers to the fictional estate in the movie Citizen Kane. In the film, it is the home of the character Charles Foster Kane.
The location
The house is located in Medina, Washington is nearly a mile away from the residence of the fellow billionaire, Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos.
The area
The Gates family mansion, according to the Los Angeles Times is spread across 66,000 sq ft and is located in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington. The house took seven years and 63 million dollars to be built, with $1 million payable as property taxes every year. About 300 construction workers, out of which 100 were electricians worked on the site for the construction.
The worth
According to a report in BusinessInsider.in, Gates spends most of his time at this mansion in Medina, Washington. It took Gates seven years and $63 million to build this behemoth of a house, which is filled with lots of high-tech features. He purchased the lot for $2 million in 1988, but the property is now worth an estimated $130 million
Who designed it
It was designed by architects James Cutler and Peter Bohlin. Melinda eventually hired interior designer Thierry Despont to help make it more livable.
Materials used
The house is built in the Pacific lodge style, influenced by the materials that are found in the Pacific Northwest region. Almost 500-year-old Douglas fir trees were used. It is reported that half a million wood logs were used in its construction.
The specifications
According to the New York Times, the house includes a 20-car garage, reception hall for 150 people, gym lined with rock from the Pacific Northwest, trampoline room, and a spa. Another media report in Arch20.com says that the house has seven bedrooms only. There are six kitchens and 24 bathrooms, 10 of which contain bathtubs. There is also a sauna, steam room, and separate locker rooms. There is a 25,000-square-foot gym. A reception hall can accommodate up to 200 guests. A special home theatre serves 20 guests in plush seats and sofas. There is also a popcorn machine.
The pool
The house includes a 60-foot pool. There is also an underwater sound system to listen to your favourite music while swimming, according to the New York Times
The library
The house contains a collection of rare manuscripts, one of which is written by Leonardo Da Vinci, and it alone is worth $8 million. It houses a 2100-square-foot library with a dome-shaped roof and oculus. It also has two secret bookcases, with a hidden bar. There is a quote on the ceiling from “The Great Gatsby”, “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”
A Sensored mansion
According to Rethinkingthefuture.com, an automated high-tech sensor system is used to monitor the room’s climate and lighting. The guests can change the temperature and lighting of the rooms as per their preferences. The music flows from speakers placed behind the wallpapers
An 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 house against heat loss. There are artificial streams and estuary systems in the complex. According to a media report, the complex has a beach and the sand has been imported from the Caribbean.
