Bill Gates has added some European influence to his real estate portfolio after investing $60 million in Italy’s historic Portofino Castle.

The Microsoft founder, 67, purchased Portofino Castle, in the Liguria region of northern Italy, through his real estate company Four Seasons.

Gates, the world’s fourth richest man, had bought the real estate company from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal after buying half of Alaweed Kingdom Holding Company’s previous 47.5% stake for $2.21 billion in 2021.

Local journal The 19th century Secolo reported that the billionaire had purchased the ‘Castello’ property – said to be the most prestigious property in the village.

The castle is currently divided into 12 mini-apartments, but Gates’ goal is to turn the European real estate goldmine into a luxury hotel, but environmental constraints will make that difficult, according to The 19th century Secolo.

Bill Gates has just purchased the historic Portofino Castle in the Liguria region of northern Italy, according to local newspaper Il Secolo XIX.

The stunning property – formerly known as “Castello di San Giorgio” – cost Gates around $60 million.

The billionaire purchased the castle through Four Seasons and plans to transform the property – currently divided into 12 mini-apartments – into a luxury hotel.

Gates purchased the historic castle for about $60 million from a Genovese insurance company.

The 12,917 square foot property – formerly known as Castello di San Giorgio – has a private elevator that drops guests directly onto the picturesque beaches surrounding Portofino Harbor.

The castle site was historically used for military defense during Roman times and was abandoned when the area became peaceful in the early 19th century. Decades later, it was purchased by an English diplomat who transformed it into a luxurious villa.

Portofino – a popular tourist destination – is a town clustered around its small harbor and is known for all the colorful buildings dotted along the shoreline.

This isn’t the first Italian historical monument that Gates has splurged on. In June 2022, he bought the Palazzo Marini in Rome thanks to his Four Seasons property to transform it into a six-star hotel.

The building enjoys a prime location to attract tourists, not far from the famous Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and Via Condotti, the center of fashion shopping in Rome.

Four Seasons will face a major project to convert the sprawling Palazzo Marini into Rome’s first six-star hotel.

Gates owns an Indian Wells mansion worth $12.5 million, located in the exclusive Vintage Club in Indian Wells, California, which requires a membership fee of $250,000. The house – which he bought in 1990 – has six bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a guitar-shaped swimming pool.

The luxury hotel and resort company planned to spend $120 million to renovate the building, according to purchase documents reported by the Daily Beast, which are only viewable in person at Rome City Hall.

The company announced in January 2022 that it had more than 50 new projects in planning or development, including in Italy, Spain, China, Japan, Colombia, Belize and key markets in the United States. United.

While Gates has used his recent ownership of the Four Seasons to expand his real estate empire outside the United States, his domestic real estate portfolio is already impressive.

His primary residence is the $131 million home he owns in Medina, Washington, which spans 66,000 square feet and took seven years to build.

The property is dubbed Xanadu 2.0 and includes a trampoline room, an artificial stream, six kitchens, a 60-foot swimming pool and a dining room with a capacity of 200 people, according to Forbes.

The 66,000-square-foot mansion overlooks Lake Washington in Medina, nine miles from downtown Seattle — where the Gates Foundation is headquartered. The house has an indoor-outdoor swimming pool with an underwater music system and fossil patterns on the floor, as well as an ancient fossil print of a palm leaf behind the diving board.

On the five-acre grounds, there is a man-made stream stocked with salmon and cutthroat trout, as well as a beach with sand imported, some say, from the Caribbean. Inside the seven-bedroom, 18-bathroom mansion is an art deco home theater that seats 20 and a 1,000-square-foot dining room that seats 24.

The 2,100 square foot library features two secret revolving bookcases, one of which contains a bar. A special corner was built to display one of Gates’ most prized possessions: a scientific notebook kept by Leonardo da Vinci in the early 1500s, called the Codex. Gates bought it at auction in 1994 for $30 million.

His $12.5 million Indian Wells mansion is located in the exclusive Vintage Club in Indian Wells, California, which requires a $250,000 membership fee. The house, purchased in 1990, has six bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a guitar-shaped swimming pool.

The Microsoft founder owns property at the Yellowstone Club in Montana. He paid an undisclosed amount to secure his place in the Montana field – but the membership alone is a whopping $300,000.

The billionaire and his ex-wife Melinda shared a $43 million beach house in Del Mar, California, but the property has since become Gates’ bachelor pad following the couple’s divorce.

Gates bought a beach house just outside San Diego with his then-wife, philanthropist Melinda Gates. The beachfront mansion in Del Mar, California, dropped $43 million to become the second most expensive home in San Diego County history.

The state-of-the-art beach house was designed by world-renowned architect Ken Rochetti and included six bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.

The 5,800-square-foot property had a four-car garage, an expansive oceanfront deck, a glass-tile pool and a huge Jacuzzi.

The San Diego beach house became the site of controversy after Bill decided to gut the entire house following his divorce from Melinda. Neighbors said Gates’ round-the-clock renovations bothered them and called the billionaire a “nuisance.”

Gates is the proud owner of an estate in the exclusive Yellowstone Club community. Other members of this chic private club include Justin Bieber and couple Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel.

The Microsoft founder paid an undisclosed amount to secure his spot in the Montana field, but the membership alone is worth $300,000.