Gates slapped with million dollar tax bill

SEATTLE, Washington, Feb 15 (AFP) -

The home of the world's richest man boasts 84 kilometers (52 miles) of fiber optic cable, touch-sensitive pads controlling lighting, music, and climate, seven bedrooms, 24 bathrooms and a sauna.

It also boasts a whopping tax bill -- more than one million dollars.

King County sent out annual property-tax bills Monday, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda were dinged for their home, which was valued at 109.5 million dollars.

The Gates' mansion and land on the eastern shore of Lake Washington have nearly doubled in value since their last assessment, driven by Seattle's hot real estate market.

"Most of the appreciation was in the value of the mansion itself, which leaped from 49.2 million dollars to 97.6 million," King County assessor Scott Noble told AFP.

"The value of the land went up comparatively little, from 10.1 million to 11.8 million dollars."

The estate has the highest value of any residence in Washington state, "and likely the nation," Noble said.

In 1997, the couple protested a 600,000 dollar-plus tax bill, but eventually paid the full amount.

The tax bill is not likely to make a dent in Gates' fortune -- his net worth is estimated at more than 100 billion dollars, based on the value of his Microsoft shares.

A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment on the couple's reaction to the latest bill.

The massive Gates estate sits on two hectares (five acres) and took seven years to build. It features a 20-room main house and a man-made trout stream with its own salmon run.

Though most of the home is buried in the hillside, it has 4,459 square meters (48,000 square feet) of living area on three floors, including a 2,118 square-meter (22,800 square-foot) main floor and a garage that fits 30 automobiles.

There's a guest house, a trampoline room, a 20-seat theater, an arcade, a 24-screen video wall and a reception hall that can sit 150 people for dinner and has an adjoining commercial kitchen.

The swimming pool has an underwater music system, and swimmers can dive under a glass wall and emerge outdoors by a terrace.

The ornate, paneled library is where Leonardo da Vinci's 16th-century notebook, the Codex Leicester (which Gates bought for 30.8 million dollars), is displayed.

Visitors wear small electronic pins, letting built-in computers know who and where they are. Lights, heat, music and other settings adjust automatically according to visitors' personal needs and tastes.

Gates can fill the master bathtub to the right temperature and depth as he drives home from work.

The Gateses moved in in 1997, and live there with their two children.

-- $100,000,000,000.00 man (@ .), February 15, 2000

Answers

---YA, AND IF I DON'T GET A STEENKENG %^^&&** RAISE, I AIN'T CUTTIN NO LAWN NO MORE!

-- Manuel L. Abor (oldbeatuppickup@lottatools.grunt), February 15, 2000.

Is Gates a doomer? It says that his house is buried into a hillside!?! Enquiring minds want to know.....................

-- DD@aolcom (-----@---.com), February 15, 2000.

One day a wealthy man took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people live. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family.

When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"Very good, Dad!"

"Did you see how poor some people can be?"the father asked.

"Yeah!"

"And what did you learn?"

The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon."

When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless.

His son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are!"

Isn't it true that it all depends on the way we look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude towards life--you"ve got everything!

And BTW I'm sure I have more beans, rice and TP than Bill!

-- tc (trashcan-man@webtv.net), February 15, 2000.

Bill, need a pool boy? heh

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), February 15, 2000.

Less than 1%?? It should be a lot higher than that, he's getting away with robbery.

24 bathrooms??? Does he have a chronic diarrhea problem?

-- Hawk (flyin@high.again), February 15, 2000.

Hum! 24 bathrooms! wonder what their yearly toilet paper bill would be!

-- suzy (suzy@nowhere.com), February 16, 2000.