Recommended Free Tools
Bill Gates said in a 2025 interview that he could not imagine downsizing from his Medina, Washington, home. His reasons were personal: he likes the houses he has, and his children like coming back to the family home. The headline’s “$2 million” refers to the reported 1988 purchase of the lakeside property—not the finished mansion—and $130 million was a 2025 media estimate of the estate’s value, not a sale price.
Why Gates says he won’t downsize
In a 2025 interview with The Times, Gates described his Seattle-area house as “gigantic” and said he could not downsize. Fortune reproduced his explanation on January 29, 2025: “I like the houses I have” and “My kids like to come back—that is a luxury.” He also remarked that he does not cook or make his own bed, but does not mind if it has not been made. Fortune’s report of the interview links to the original Times interview.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Oasis: Modern Desert Homes Around the World | $18.85 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Architectural Digest at 100: Century of celebrity homes, iconic designers, and evolving American... | $89.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Mountain House: Studies in Elevated Design | $14.70 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses | $48.88 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Midcentury Houses Today | $39.88 | Buy on Amazon |
That is the reason Gates gave; it is not a claim that his children still live there. Fortune described him as an empty nester. The value he places on having a home his children enjoy returning to appears to outweigh the appeal of a smaller house.
What Xanadu 2.0 is—and where it is
Xanadu 2.0 is Gates’s estate in Medina, Washington, overlooking Lake Washington. Medina is in the Seattle area, but the mansion is not in Seattle proper. Architectural Digest’s 2026 coverage identifies it as his main home and gives its reported size as about 66,000 square feet. Among the features the publication describes are a domed library, a trampoline room and a swimming pool with an underwater sound system. Architectural Digest’s overview of the house provides that background.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches#1 Best Overall
The scale helps explain why “downsizing” is a striking description, but size alone does not explain why Gates wants to stay. His stated reasons were that he likes his homes and that his children like returning. Fortune reported that the estate took seven years to complete and that Gates put about $63 million into the mansion and renovations. In a 2008 Fortune interview, Melinda French Gates called it “a bachelor’s dream and a bride’s nightmare” and reportedly considered not moving in. That was her characterization, not Bill Gates’s explanation for keeping the property.
What the $2 million and $130 million figures actually mean
The headline figures refer to different things and different dates. They should not be read as the price of a completed mansion or a confirmed sale.
| Figure | What it describes | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| $2 million | Reported 1988 purchase price for the lakeside property; not the total cost of the later-built mansion. | Fortune, January 2025 |
| About $63 million | Fortune’s reported estimate of what Gates put into the mansion and its renovations. | Fortune, January 2025 |
| $130 million | Fortune’s estimate of the estate’s value, not a reported completed sale price. | Fortune, January 2025 |
| Roughly $132 million | A reported 2025 appraisal value for the main residence, described in a later Fortune report. This is an appraisal, distinct from Fortune’s earlier $130 million estimate. | Fortune, February 2026 |
The $2 million purchase and the later construction investment are separate parts of the property’s story. The figures do not establish a single all-in construction cost: the $63 million figure is Fortune’s report of investment in the mansion and renovations, while the $130 million figure is its estimate of estate value.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What changed in later reporting
Gates’s 2025 comments are not proof that he has kept every property around Xanadu 2.0. In February 2026, Fortune reported that a 2,800-square-foot neighboring home—bought for about $1 million in 1995—had been listed for $4.8 million. A later Fortune report said a representative confirmed Gates did not own certain other properties previously attributed to him. Fortune’s report on the neighboring property adds this context; it does not report that the main mansion was sold.
Rank #3
Realtor.com reported on February 19, 2026, that a buyer had been found for the neighboring home after it was listed. That is a reported buyer, not confirmation that the sale closed. The same report said records indicated Gates still owned at least two nearby homes and several vacant parcels. Realtor.com’s account concerns the surrounding properties, not a move from Xanadu 2.0.
Architectural Digest’s 2026 overview continued to identify Xanadu 2.0 as Gates’s main home. Taken together, the later coverage supports a narrower conclusion: some nearby holdings have been listed or disposed of, while available reporting still describes the mansion as his residence. It does not establish that he has downsized from the main estate.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
