How tech titans live: From California mansions to a Hawaiian island . . . take a tour of the stunning homes of the top 25 web moguls
These 25 tech moguls have laid the foundation for the future, building their own vast fortunes and picking up some serious real estate along the way.Their homes range from 'modern castles' to entire islands, some even boasting tell-tale technology nicknames like 'Raptor Residence' or Bill Gates' 'Xanadu 2.0'.
And as their industry booms, skyrocketing sales in Silicon Valley are sure to put pressure on these moguls to spent even more on their home sweet homes.
In the last few months alone, several of the stars of the scene have purchased new residences with their bulging bank accounts.
Zynga CEO and cofounder Mark Pincus scored a $16million San Francisco mansion, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison purchased the entire Hawaiian Island of Lanai for $600million and Netscape cofounder Jim Clark bought an estate on Southampton for $49million, according to Business Insider.
The desire to build bigger and better near the business center of Silicon Valley has caused sales to skyrocket, according to NBC.
Currently leading the nation in the number of homes sold for $1million or more, sales of the pricey properties have more than doubled in the past year alone, according to Realtytrac, beating out luxury leaders like Beverly Hills and Miami.
Not all media moguls reside in the Valley, but several do stay true to form.
25) MARISSA MAYER, YAHOO!
The modest looking 5,203sqft residence was once host to a fundraiser for President Barack Obama, where each diner contributed $30,000 for the pleasure of sitting in.
His relatively modest home is right beside the new Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
Business Insider reports he purchased the five-bedroom, five-bath house for $7million in May 2011. Due to rising real estate prices, that means his home is now valued at $7.6million.
23) MARK HURD, ORACLE
The five-bedroom and six-bath home was purchased in 2005 for $7.1million, but is now valued at $7.8million.
But a few years later, Mr Page built a second home on his property, an entirely Eco-friendly one, with an elevator, solar panels, a rooftop garden and previous paving in the parking lot.
21) CAROL BARTZ, YAHOO!
She and her husband Bill Marr, a former executive at Data General and Sun Microsystems, purchased the home for $4.6million in 1995, but since then, the value has ballooned to $8.5million.
And the Facebook COO's huge family home in Atherton certainly befits that status, as it cost $8million when she bought it in 2004.
The mogul is said to be building a new home near her firm's headquarters, so she may be moving before too long.
19) GIDEON GARTNER, GARTNER INC
Gideon Gartner spent a whopping
$9.5million on his Manhattan one-bedroom after cashing in on Gartner
Inc, his technology-research firm.
He bought his new home after shedding his old penthouse at the Park Millennium for around $19.5million.
Mr Dorsey's home on a cliff in El Camino Del Mar in the tony Seacliff neighborhood was purchased in February of this year for a cool $9.9million.
The property with a serious vista was reportedly the most expensive home in the entire city at the time, sporting views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay.
17) TOM PROULX, INTUIT
Tim Proulx, the cofounder of Intuit
and the chairman of Netpulse, owns not one, but three adjacent
properties on Fletcher Drive in Atherton, California.
His
homes, separately priced at $5.9million, $2.7million and $2.1million,
together bring the value of his compound to $11million.
The four-bedroom pad also sports a 23-foot balcony and a limestone bath - with heated floors.
But Manhattan doesn't host his only home; Mr Brin also owns a lavish Los Altos Hills estate which reportedly cost $7million for the land alone.
15) JOHN CHAMBERS, CISCO
The CEO of Cisco Systems, John Chambers, also has a Los Altos Hills home, only his is worth an estimated $15million.
The
8,280sqft estate sits on six acres of landscaped gardens and has a
fitness center, sauna, pool, spa and tennis court. It's also for sale,
if you're interested.
Situated on the elite Isabella Avenue, his 8,500sqft home is worth $15.5million.
13) MARK PINCUS, ZYNGA
Mr Pincus purchased a classic San Francisco home for $16million this month. The gorgeous property has seven bedrooms, an elevator, eight fireplaces and breathtaking views of the bay.
Built in 1907, the four-storey home previously belonged to philanthropist Jane Newhall.
One of the original dotcommers, Mr Cuban made billions when he sold his startup to Yahoo for $5.9billion in 1999.
His 24,000sqft mansion in Dallas is worth an estimated $17.6million, making it the ninth most expensive home in the city.
Mr Cuban built his humble abode himself, careful to include 10 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms.
11) THE WINKLEVOSS TWINS, FACEBOOK
The $18million home will reportedly be the pair's West Coast headquarters for their new company, Winklevoss Capital.
Mr Schmidt bought the home from talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and has been known to rent out the 5,000sqft property for special events...such as Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries' doomed nuptials.
The $20million home is just one of Mr Schmidt's numerous properties as his portfolio includes residences in Nantucket and Atherton.
9) SEAN PARKER, NAPSTER
Mr Parker, who is best known for his investments in Napster and Facebook, purchased the 7,500 property in 2011 for $20million.
A historic carriage house, the real estate status symbol has an indoor pool, private garage and landscaped atrium.
His $26million mansion in Beverly Hills is a sprawling 12,000sqft and has a pool, sunken tennis court, a gym, a greenhouse and a separate guesthouse.
7) PAUL ALLEN, MICROSOFT
Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft and chairman of Vulcan, lives in the definition of luxury.
His
$26million compound on Seattle's Mercer Island has a floating helipad, a
dock, a ballroom, pool with a waterslide, a full basketball court and
seven mansions.
Valued at $10million, $9.3million, $3.5million,
$1.6million, $1.5million, $1.5million, and $650,000, he is definitively
the king of his compound.
Jim Clark's 9-acre Southampton estate
The 18,000sqft home has 12 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, three half-bathrooms and has a fountain and paddleball court.
5) MICHAEL DELL, DELL
Michael Dell, who founded Dell computers,
primarily lives in a modern 'castle' in Austin, Texas. When he's in
the mood for a getaway, he jets off to his 'Raptor Residence': a,
18,500sqft estate in Hawaii.
Situated in a private community on
the Big Island, the home has seven bedrooms and has been appraised by
local publications to be worth a whopping $62million.
Omid Kordestani reportedly paid $29.5million in March of 2008 for his 15 Central Park West address. His 5,416sqft apartment is said to be work $70million now.
3) YURI MILNER, INVESTOR
Yuri Milner's $100million
French-chateau-style mansion sits in Silicon Valley, where the investor
in Facebook, Zynga, Twitter, Spotify, ZocDoc and Groupon rests his head.
The
Russian investor purchased the extravagant estate in March 2011, when
it was one of the most expensive real estate sales in the entire
country.
The home, which was reportedly not even on the market when he bought it, is now valued to be worth only $50million.
The 30,000sqft home has five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a ballroom, wine cellar and home theater.
Guests visiting the digitally-enhanced home must reportedly wear computerized pins so the house can monitor one's travels throughout the many halls and rooms in order to adjust the music, lighting and climate settings to the person's preference.
Xanadu 2.0 took seven years to build and cost $63million.
1) LARRY ELLISON, ORACLE
The cofounder and CEO of Oracle purchased 98 per cent of the island in June 2012, allowing him to call the 141sqmiles of pristine nature his own.
Mr Ellison's plans for the island are not yet known.
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