3 things Bill Gates splurged on – and 2 everyday items the world’s second-richest billionaire refuses to overspend on

Sep 15 , 2020

Bill Gates has more money than anyone in the world, besides Jeff Bezos, but maintains many remarkably frugal habits. Photo: @thisisbillgates/Instagram

Second only to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos in the world wealth rankings, the Microsoft co-founder has more than US$100 billion in the bank and refuses to splurge on many common everyday and luxury items – but he has admitted to spending a fraction of his wealth on a few guilty pleasures

Bill Gates may be the second-richest person in the world in 2020, but he still has a reputation for being frugal. The Microsoft co-founder purchased a US$43 million house in California in March, but that is just one of the rare indulgent moments where he shelled out so much money. Here are three more surprising items that the multi-billionaire bought for a hefty price tag.

For a billionaire, Bill Gates lives a frugal life – most of the time. Photo: DPA

Leonardo da Vinci’s 16th century journal

Back in 1994, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-founder spent US$30.8 million at an auction to get a hold of the Codex Leicester, a 72-page collection of scientific writings and sketches by Leonardo da Vinci. Written between 1506 and 1510, the Renaissance journal is housed in Gates’ massive library – but he occasionally loans it to museums to share to the public.

A Bombardier BD-700 Global Express private jet

If there is anything that Bill Gates considers his “guilty pleasure” and his “big splurge”, it is his US$40 million Bombardier BD-700 Global Express private jet. The business magnate explained that he uses it for his business travels during a 2018 interview with Ellen DeGeneres.

A trampoline room in his a US$127 million mansion