Bill Gates sat down with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres for the first time this week.
Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and is the world’s second-richest person with an estimated fortune of $91.8 billion, according to Bloomberg’s index.
Gates officially became a billionaire when he was 31 — the youngest billionaire in history, at the time. But the boost to his bank account didn’t send him on a spending spree, Gates said during his interview with DeGeneres.
“I don’t have that many things that are extravagant taste, so it didn’t change too much,” Gates said, adding that his primary concern at the time was being able to pay his employees, many of whom had families to care for.
“So you didn’t say ‘Oh I’m going to buy a Porsche?'” DeGeneres pressed.
“I did — that I did,” Gates said. “That was an indulgence, and then eventually for my travel I got a plane, which is a huge indulgence, so those are my two.”
“So you have a Porsche and a plane and that’s it?” she asked.
“In terms of crazy things, yes,” he said. Gates has previously referred to his private jet as a “guilty pleasure” and “big splurge.” It has been widely reported that he owns a Bombardier BD-700 Global Express with seating for up to 19 people — and a $40 million price tag.
Gates also told DeGeneres he has a trampoline room in his home, a $125 million mansion in Medina, Washington, which is less than one mile from fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos.
“We have a trampoline room in our house. The kids like that. An indoor trampoline — I recommend it,” he said.
It may not come as a surprise that Gates isn’t one for opulence. He and his wife Melinda are incredibly focused on philanthropy, having donated more than $2 billion in 2016 to causes related to global health and development and U.S. education.
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