Homes Of The Billionaires 2005

[kliljedahl]

How does the other half live? Well, it depends. Try more like how does the other 0.00001% live?

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the median American house size is slightly more than 2,000 square feet. Compare that with 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 the average size. The NAHB says that most houses have three bedrooms, one fireplace and are sided with vinyl or aluminum. Some billionaires' homes have more than a dozen bedrooms, and 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 super-rich are not out of proportion to their wealth. In fact, comparatively, they can seem downright modest.

According to the National Association of Realtors, about one-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 $44 billion. If he sank the average 20% into his home, the property would have to be worth...oh, approximately $8.8 billion--roughly the gross domestic product of Iceland.

Instead, Buffet lives more like a millionaire than a billionaire