Buying a private island is still the gold standard for extravagant billionaire real estate investments. But what if Bill Gates or the Koch Brothers wanted to up the ante? What if they wanted to, say, purchase a whole city to be their personal Xanadu?
Which billionaire could buy your city?
Which billionaire could buy your city? - Billionaire /Wealth Source /Net WorthCity /# of Homes /Cost of All HomesWalton FamilyWal-Mart$154.8 billionSeattle, WA241,450 homes$111.5 billionKoch BrothersOil$86.0 billionAtlanta, GA286,629 homes$78.1 billionBill GatesMicrosoft$77.5 billionBoston, MA114,212 homes$76.6 billionWarren BuffettBerkshire Hathaway$63.5 billionCharlotte, NC280,214 homes$56.1 billionMichael BloombergBloomberg LP$31.8 billionAnaheim, CA69,167 homes$31.4 billionLarry PageGoogle$30.8 billionBoca Raton, FL99,964 homes$29.5 billionJeff BezosAmazon.com$30.5 billionNapa, CA57,923 homes$29.5 billionMark ZuckerbergFacebook$27.7 billionSaint Paul, MN139,124 homes$26.8 billionSteve BallmerMicrosoft$20.4 billionLittleton, CO64,516 homes$20.0 billionPhil KnightNike$18.3 billionFalls Church, VA37,838 homes$18.0 billionPaul AllenMicrosoft$15.9 billionDurham, NC92,290 homes$15.8 billionRupert Murdochmedia$13.6 billionPeoria, AZ60,894 homes$13.5 billionElon MuskTesla Motors$8.8 billionCentreville, VA23,789 homes$8.8 billionRalph LaurenRalph Lauren$7.1 billionWorcester, MA44,385 homes$7.1 billionDustin MoskovitzFacebook$6.6 billionWheaton, IL21,365 homes$6.6 billionJan KoumWhatsApp$6.4 billionLaguna Hills, CA10,892 homes$6.4 billionS. Truett CathyChick-fil-A$6.3 billionBrick, NJ30,541 homes$6.3 billionCharles SchwabDiscount brokerage$6.0 billionSpotsylvania, VA25,925 homes$6.0 billionGeorge LucasStar Wars$5.0 billionHomestead, FL44,400 homes$5.0 billionDonald TrumpTelevision, real Estate$3.9 billionCommerce City, CO17,527 homes$3.9 billionH. Ross Perot SrComputer services$3.6 billionDover, DE24,197 homes$3.6 billionSteven SpielbergMovies$3.4 billionSun City West, AZ18,934 homes$3.4 billionJerry JonesDallas Cowboys$3.1 billionLongview, WA18,645 homes$3.1 billionOprah WinfreyTelevision$2.9 billionMokena, IL10,625 homes$2.9 billionMark CubanOnline media$2.6 billionForney, TX13,286 homes$2.6 billionTed TurnerCable television$2.2 billionJonesboro, GA28,981 homes$2.2 billionHoward SchultzStarbucks$2.1 billionLake Wales, FL23,045 homes$2.1 billionMeg WhitmanEbay$2.0 billionWinder, GA19,818 homes$2.0 billionDonald SterlingReal estate$1.9 billionRandallstown, MD10,421 homes$1.9 billionBruce NordstromDepartment stores$1.4 billionFlorence, AZ10,878 homes$1.4 billion

Turns out, they'd have a few decent options in their price range. The real estate brokerage Redfin calculated that Gates’ estimated wealth could purchase all the homes in Boston.* The Kochs could snap up Atlanta, and the Walton family could turn Seattle (or Washington, D.C., or Austin, or San Antonio, or Dallas, or Miami, or Portland) into an estate. (Numbers on the graphic correspond to the cost of purchasing the city's housing stock).