Warren Buffett
Omaha, Neb.
Net Worth: $62 billion
Rank: 1
The world's richest man still resides in the 6,000-square- foot, five-bedroom gray stucco home he bought in 1958 for $31,500. The 77-year-old keeps fit on his very own handball court. Last year an intruder armed with a fake gun tried to break into the modest, ungated property, but was thwarted by security.
Bill Gates
Medina, Wash.
Net Worth: $58 billion
Rank: 3
Gates' 66,000-square- foot compound is built into a hillside on the edge of Lake Washington, near Seattle. Out-of-shape visitors can skip the 84-step hike to the ground floor and opt for an elevator ride instead. Among its enviable amenities: a 60-foot swimming pool with an underwater music system, a 2,500-square- foot gym and a 1,000-square- foot dining room, which seats 24
Lakshmi Mittal
London, England
Net Worth: $45 billion
Rank: 4
In 2004, Mittal paid $128 million for this 12-bedroom townhouse in the luxe Kensington neighborhood called Billionaires' Row. Mittal's mansion, tucked between Kensington Palace and the Sultan of Brunei's spread, has an indoor pool, Turkish baths and garage space for 20 cars. The super-home is embellished with marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal.
Larry Ellison
Woodside, Calif.
Net Worth: $25 billion
Rank: 14
Over the last few years, the Oracle co-founder has kept jaws a-dropping by spending $200 million by some estimates on near a dozen properties in Malibu, including five homes that in aggregate would create a custom compound. His 23-acre estate in Woodside, pictured here, is reminiscent of a 16th-century imperial Japanese palace and reportedly cost upward of $100 million to build.
Michael Dell
Austin, Texas
Net Worth: $16.4 billion
Rank: 40
Built in 1997, Dell's 33,000-square- foot manse sits on a 20-acre spread a stone's throw from where he founded his eponymous computer company. It is known locally as "the castle" thanks to its high walls and tight security.
James Packer
Sydney, Australia
Net Worth: $5.7 billion
Rank: 174
The young media heir was raised at the Packer family compound in the tony Bellevue Hill suburb of Sydney. The centerpiece of the five-property spread, which stretches nearly three acres, is Cairnton, the main house, bought by Packer's grandfather in 1935.
Steve Jobs
Woodside, Calif.
Net Worth: $5.4 billion
Rank: 189
Last year preservationists in Woodside, Calif., successfully quashed the tech superstar's plans to demolish the Jackling House, his 30-room historic, though dilapidated Spanish Colonial revival-style home set on six acres. Jobs had hoped to raze the 17,000-square- foot mansion and build smaller, newer digs. No matter. Word is he and his family haven't lived in the house for years.
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