Bill Gates buys in Palm Beach horse country

From left, Jennifer, Bill and Melinda Gates and Wellington home
From left, Jennifer, Bill and Melinda Gates and Wellington home

After shelling out $1.1 million on rent in the horse-centered village of Wellington in Palm Beach County, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has purchased a home there for $8.7 million in cash, Gossip Extra reported.

The property boasts a 7,230-square-foot, four-bedroom home, show jumping training grounds and two barns with space for 20 horses.

Gates, wife Melinda and their family rented the same house, in the exclusive Mallet Hill section of Wellington, for four months in January for $500,000, according to the site.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

It was the second time the family wintered in Wellington, where young show rider Jennifer Gates participates in the villages Winter Equestrian Festival.

The Gates will neighbor other billionaires as wealthy horse-enthusiasts from the U.S. and South America rush to buy properties in the Palm Beach enclave, as The Real Deal previously reported.

Other owners in Mallet Hill, a subdivision of 13 homes, include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Frank McCourt, who recently sold the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2.1 billion, the web site reported. [Gossip Extra]Emily Schmall