Bill Gates's House

Microsoft's co-founder and its chief executive from 1975 to 2000, now better known for the global health foundation he funds. He came to Wellington because his daughter Jennifer competes in show jumping.

Village of Wellington GIS puts this tract on a plat recorded in November 1989, at Plat Book 37. Village land-use rules cap it at 1 home per acre.

The Florida Department of Revenue's statewide parcel roll dates the house to 1990, the year after that plat was filed. It is the oldest building still standing on the lane.

The ground here was too wet to farm until 1953, when Florida chartered a drainage district for Charles Oliver Wellington's land. Strawberry fields later covered more than 2,000 acres of it.

Gates bought this parcel in 2016 from developer Stuart Roffman, the first of 5 neighbors on the cul-de-sac to sell to him. South Florida Reporter quoted Roffman saying Gates “is all about privacy.”

Florida's Department of Revenue parcel roll also shows 4 nearby lots under the same owner name as this one. Together they run a little over 20 acres.

Village of Wellington GIS maps 3 bridle trails within a few hundred yards of this block. One is a grass path 16 feet wide, dedicated by the drainage district and mowed by the village.