Homes of the Billionaires

Now lets look at the homes of the billionaires. More examples of paying cash and only buying what you need in a home. See Warren Buffets home in the picture below, he bought it in 1958 for $31,500. The home is now valued at $500,000.

How does the other half live? Well, it depends. Try more like how the other .00001% lives.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, the median American house size is slightly more than 2,000 square feet. Compare that to the domicile of the world's richest man: as might be expected from one with that sobriquet, Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) founder Bill Gates' house is more than 30 times that size. The NAHB says that most houses have three bedrooms, one fireplace and are sided in vinyl or aluminum. Some billionaires' homes have more than a dozen bedrooms; the only vinyl is in the rare-record collection housed in the custom-built listening room.

Yet as extravagant as some of their mansions may seem, the homes of the superrich are not out of proportion to their wealth. In fact, they can seem comparatively downright modest.

Warren Buffet
Omaha, Nebr.

Net Worth: $42 billion
Rank: 2

The Oracle of Omaha lives in mighty modest digs, given the size of his fortune. He still resides in the gray stucco home he bought in 1958 for $31,500. Totaling about 6,000 square feet, in 2003, the Happy Hollow house was assessed at just $700,000 (though the value investor thought it was really worth about $500,000). Buffett sold one of his two Laguna Beach, Calif., properties, but still has one valued at about $4 million. That's still less than one hundredth of a percent of his estimated net worth.

A report released by the National Association of Realtors last year pointed out that in the U.S., about a fifth of a household's wealth is composed of home equity. Let's say that held true for Warren Buffett. The mastermind behind holding company Berkshire Hathaway (nyse: BRK.A - news - people ) is second on our list of the World's Richest People, with an estimated net worth of $42 billion. If he sank the average 20% into his home, the property would have to be worth...oh, approximately $8.4 billion. In other words, the gross domestic product of Libya.

Instead, Buffett lives more like a millionaire than a billionaire. For nearly 50 years, he's bedded down in the same Omaha house he bought for $31,500. Although far from elaborate, it is still more than adequate. In 2003, the local assessor pegged its value at nearly $700,000. Buffett disagreed--he thought it was worth more like $500,000.

Buffett's not the only penny-wise homeowner on the list. Ingvar Kamprad, founder and former chief executive of home furnishings giant IKEA, is a notorious tightwad who drives a second-hand Volvo despite his estimated $28 billlion fortune. His house in Lausanne, Switzerland, though hidden behind a high hedge, is said to be surprisingly unremarkable. He does indulge in winemaking, at his small vineyard in Provence, but has been known to complain that it's an expensive hobby.

you can read more by clicking here

The link includes a picture slide show of the homes, for those interested in viewing he homes.