Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, is now apparently a land baron in Wellington.
The Microsoft founder just closed his $8.7 million cash purchase of a Wellington estate, bringing his holdings up to five of the six properties on the tiny street Mallet Hill Court.
Gates started off his Wellington purchases three years ago when he paid $8.7 million for his 4.5-acre horse ranch at 3155 Mallet Hill Court. His daughter Jennifer Gates is a noted equestrian, and the Huffington Post reported Bill purchased the estate so Jennifer could train there for her Wellington events.
Now, as first reported by GossipExtra, Gates is gobbling up the rest of the properties on that street to make it an entirely private neighborhood.
His latest move is the $8.7 million purchase of a 5.2-acre estate at 13715 Quarter Horse Trail Road, which sits at the entrance to Gates’ street. It was sold by James Kelley, Stephanie Kelley and Constance Grasso, who originally paid $3.375 million for the five-bedroom, six-bathroom home in 2010. In March, Gates paid $13.5 million to buy out his neighbor Stuart Roffman’s home at 3060 Mallet Hill Court.
Those purchases were made through an entity called the Wellington Trust, managed by trustee Robert Buote.
GossipExtra reported Gates has also purchased two land parcels from PBP Investments LLC at 3162 and 3128 Mallet Hill Court, totaling about 2.6 acres, though those sales have yet to be recorded online in Palm Beach County.
With five properties under his belt for a total of $35.87 million, the last property to go is a 1.3-acre land parcel at 3094 Mallet Hill Court, owned by Sandra Brady. If that sale closes, Gates will own roughly 20 acres of equestrian turf in one of Wellington’s poshest neighborhoods.