Bill Gates's Property Tax Bill Stuns: $2.7 Million Is 700 Times Average American's

Wealthy people are often accused of not paying their fair share of taxes, but real estate is one area where they can't escape the taxman – often forking over jaw-dropping amounts for their mansions and large estates.

Take tech mogul Bill Gates. According to Entrepreneur magazine, the Microsoft Corp. co-founder and his former wife, Melinda French Gates, paid $2.7 million in property taxes last year – 700 times what the average American owed.

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A prime example of Gates's extensive real estate holdings is his 10.5-acre property in Medina, Washington. The luxurious estate, Xanadu 2.0, sits on Lake Washington and is valued at $183.5 million. It's composed of 12 parcels acquired over time for $34 million. Last year, the property taxes on the compound amounted to $1.3 million – Gates's highest property tax bill.

Gates owns a substantial real estate portfolio across the United States. In California, known for its excessive property values, Gates holds five properties, including a Del Mar beach house purchased in 2020 for $43 million. The home incurred about $480,000 in property taxes the following year.

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Gates also owns an equestrian estate in Wellington, Florida, and a residence in the exclusive Yellowstone Club in Montana. The properties generated tax bills of $280,000 and $107,000, respectively.

Gates also has accumulated 275,000 acres of land, making him a significant landowner in the United States. While most of the property is agricultural and investment-oriented, Gates has a 245-acre personal estate.

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Over three decades, Gates and French Gates invested more than $150 million in their real estate portfolio. The couple's 2021 divorce complicated property ownership as assets were shuffled between various trusts linked to the same Seattle bank.

While these figures may seem substantial to the average person, they represent a minuscule portion of Gates's $132 billion net worth.

Despite paying a higher effective tax rate on his increasing wealth than other billionaires, Gates's overall income tax rate is lower than many other ultra-high-net-worth individuals and even average Americans. According to a 2022 ProPublica report, Gates earned an average of $2.85 billion annually between 2013 and 2018, yet his federal income tax rate was only 18.4% during that period. This equates to roughly $525 million in federal income taxes paid each year.

Gates has said that the very wealthy should pay more in taxes, remarking during a Reddit "Ask Me Anything," "In terms of the very rich, I think they should pay a lot more in taxes, and they should give away their wealth over time."

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