Bill Gates Joins Florida Equestrian Neighborhood

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Microsoft founder Bill Gates has reportedly purchased an estate in a famous equestrian neighborhood in Florida for $8.7 million. 

The second richest man in the world and wife Melinda reportedly paid cash for 4.8-acre property. He previously rented homes in Wellington during their daughter's equestrian competitions.

Wellington includes 60 full-size polo fields, three polo clubs and the 9,200-acre district known as the Equestrian Preserve, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Dubbed the "winter equestrian capital," it is a popular community among celebrities. Home owners include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Bruce Springsteen and Tommy Lee Jones. 

Mr. Gates' estate in the guarded Mallet Hill development includes an "architecturally eye-brow knitting 7,234-square-foot quasi-hacienda style mini-mansion with four bedrooms and four full- and two half-bathrooms," according to Real Estalker. 

The home is very different to the Gates' only other (known) property -- a high-tech, modern five-acre compound on Lake Washington. 

The home in horse-friendly Wellington features a 20-stall barn and a show-jumping arena, according to the listing site Zillow. 

Here is the report from the Wall Street Journal: