MW The real-estate holdings of 5 of the world's richest men
By Claudine Zap
These billionaires have amassed property fortunes
There's rich, and then there's Elon Musk rich - a level of wealth so extraordinary that the billionaire Tesla $(TSLA)$ chief just landed in the history books as the first person to reach a net worth of $400 billion.
Musk, 53, who is also the CEO of SpaceX and since 2022 has owned the social-media platform X, has held the title of richest person in the world for some time now, having first earned the "honor" back in January 2021, when he surpassed Amazon $(AMZN)$ founder Jeff Bezos to claim the top spot on the list of the world's wealthiest individuals.
Though he dropped back to the No. 2 spot for a few months, Musk reclaimed his title in September 2021 - and has remained there ever since, with his net worth increasing by a vast magnitude in the years since.
Per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk now boasts a fortune of $444 billion, inching ever closer to the next notch on his fortune belt: $500 billion.
But while Musk has all but cemented his status at the top of the global billionaires list, there are several other names of note in the top five, including Bezos. And while Musk reigns supreme as far as net worth is concerned, when it comes to real-estate holdings, he's at the back of the pack.
Musk's property portfolio is a picture of restraint and even thrift - unlike the other men in the top five, from LVMH (FR:MC) boss Bernard Arnault to Facebook $(META)$ so-founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Over the years, these men have amassed an incredible array of real-estate holdings, spending at least a small portion of their enormous fortunes on some of the swankiest properties across the U.S. - and beyond.
Elon Musk
Net worth: $444 billion
The 53-year-old South African-born entrepreneur and, more recently, close adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, juggles myriad businesses, and his wealth keeps breaking records.
Just weeks ago, he became the first person to achieve a net worth of more than $400 billion. And his net worth is now sitting at $444 billion.
However, his real estate is much more modest in scope.
Though he has owned various homes in the past, in 2020 the billionaire made the surprising decision to sell "almost all of his physical possessions."
In a series of posts on X, which was then known as Twitter, Musk shared that he planned to "own no house," with reports at the time revealing that he was giving up every property he still owned.
And despite multiple reports suggesting that the billionaire father of 11 is buying up megamansions and compounds from Florida to Texas, the only property he is confirmed to have owned and lived in over the past few years is an incredibly modest home in Texas.
Austin, Texas
As Realtor.com previously reported, the only property Musk is confirmed to have owned and lived in recently is a three-bedroom, ranch-style house that sits just a block from his SpaceX Starbase facility in the Brownsville, Texas, neighborhood of Boca Chica.
The businessman announced on X that he had moved into the rental property in 2021. "My primary home is literally a $50K house in Boca Chica/Starbase that I rent from SpaceX. It's kinda awesome though," he said.
The Brownsville property that Musk was referring to sits on a grassy street that runs down to the perimeter of Starbase and has several similar properties dotting it.
The home serves as the businessman's official legal residence, a status he confirmed when he visited a local polling station to cast his vote in the 2024 presidential election. He had spent months campaigning for Republican candidate Trump.
"Just voted in Cameron County, Texas, home of Starbase!" Musk wrote on X on Nov. 5, alongside an image of himself and several acquaintances standing outside the polling location.
Silicon Valley
Previously, before decamping to the Lone Star State, the tech mogul was based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he owned a swanky, multimillion-dollar mansion to match.
Located in Hillsborough, Calif., the World War I-era build offers seven bedrooms and 91/2 bathrooms across 16,000 square feet and sits on a 47.4-acre lot - it's one of the largest parcels of land on the San Francisco Peninsula, the listing noted.
Musk picked up the property in 2017 for $23.4 million. He sold it for $30 million in 2021.
Los Angeles
One of the homes that Musk sold off when he rid himself of all his possessions was a historic abode in Los Angeles that was once owned by the comic actor Gene Wilder.
According to reports, he bought the property via a trust in 2013, paying $6.75 million for a home described as "nestled in the exclusive Bel Air neighborhood."
Though he went on to sell it off, it's clear that the home held a special place in Musk's heart, with the entrepreneur noting that his one "stipulation" in his move to let go of his material holdings was that the Wilder house could not be torn down.
In the end, Musk sold the property to Wilder's nephew, filmmaker Jordan Walker-Pearlman, even loaning the buyer $6.7 million in order to help him pay for the $7 million house.
That fairytale story turned to a nightmare in August, however, when it was revealed that Musk had moved to foreclose on the home after Walker-Pearlman fell behind on his loan repayments, prompting Musk to file a notice of default.
The home is currently listed for $9.5 million.
Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $244 billion
As for the second-richest man, the Amazon founder may not have top-dog status as a billionaire, but his real estate is a jaw-dropping assemblage. Bezos, 60, has amassed homes across the country.
His holdings became the subject of much speculation in 2022, when he announced that he and partner Lauren Sánchez were making their primary residence in Florida, a move that the Amazon founder said was motivated largely by a desire to be closer to his parents.
However, in February, it was revealed that Bezos enjoyed another perk as a result of his relocation: saving hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.
According to a report by CNBC, the businessman stands to save "at least $610 million" in taxes that he would have had to pay if he was still living full-time in Washington state.
Seattle
Bezos is one of several billionaires who own properties in the ultraexclusive Seattle-area enclave of Medina, which is also home to the likes of Bill Gates and former Microsoft $(MSFT)$ executive Charles Simonyi.
Four years after he founded Amazon, Bezos - who is worth $244 billion - spent $10 million, along with now-ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, buying up two homes that sit on a 5-acre plot in the Hunts Point neighborhood. In 2010, the duo reportedly spent $28 million to extensively renovate the estate, which boasts 310 feet of private shoreline and its own boathouse.
In order to maximize space (and privacy), Bezos also purchased an adjacent property in that same year - an expansive, 24,000-square-foot mansion that was reportedly listed for $53 million, although it is unclear whether Bezos paid that hefty sum or managed to secure a discount.
That home would ultimately serve as the business mogul's primary residence for the next decade until 2023, when he announced his move to Florida. However, he appears to be holding on to his Seattle stake at least for now.
Indian Creek Island, Fla.
Bezos launched his e-commerce company in Washington state in the mid-1990s and built an enormous compound there. However, he's since declared that Florida is his new state of choice. And he has the properties to prove it.
The billionaire now owns three pricey places on Indian Creek Island, the third picked up for a reported $90 million in 2024. According to reports, he plans to raze the other two properties, which he purchased for a combined $147 million, and live in the most recent purchase while awaiting construction to complete.
Indian Creek Island, which is known as "Billionaire Bunker" because of its residents' extraordinary wealth, is also home to the likes of Ivanka Trump and Tom Brady, although Bezos is understood to be its richest inhabitant.
The neighborhood, which comprises just 34 homes and 40-odd residents, is guarded by its own police force, ensuring the utmost safety for its wealthy homeowners.
Washington, D.C.
The owner since 2013 of the Washington Post owns a similarly storied estate in the nation's capital, dropping a reported $23 million for the compound in 2017. The acquisition includes two large, historical buildings and a chauffeur's residence and garage, totaling nearly 27,000 square feet of interior space.
From the archives (January 2017): Jeff Bezos is the reported buyer of Washington's biggest house
The entire lot measures more than 34,000 square feet, with landscaped gardens and lawns. It had been marketed as "perfect for a school or embassy or an exceptional private home."
New York City
The Blue Origin founder has a huge pied-à-terre in New York City. That $16 million, three-bedroom apartment was purchased in 2020. That's in addition to his ownership of units in the building valued at some $80 million, including a three-story penthouse and two apartments on the level right below it. In 2019, building permits were filed to combine the units.
Beverly Hills, Calif.
The lavish spending continued to the West Coast, where in 2020 Bezos dropped a record $165 million for David Geffen's Los Angeles mansion, the Wall Street Journal reported. Known as the Warner Estate, the 9-acre spread was built for a former president of Warner Bros.
The parcel features "expansive terraces, sprawling gardens, several guest houses, a tennis court and its own 9-hole golf course," according to the Journal.
Maui, Hawaii
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
January 04, 2025 11:06 ET (16:06 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments