The New York Post is reporting that Gates has demolished and is rebuilding the $43 million oceanfront property in the San Diego County city of Del Mar, California and neighbors are telling The Post that the noise has become a nuisance.
“They make a lot of noise, my baby can’t sleep,” a neighbor told The Post. “It’s become a real hindrance on the whole neighborhood." "It's been a nuisance,” another neighbor reportedly said.
Bill and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, purchased the home in 2020, three months before they announced their divorce. Purchased from Madeleine Pickens, the ex-wife of Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, the property was in “pristine” condition, according to a local real estate agent who talked to The Post.
Prior to leveling the structures on the property, it was a 5800 sq ft, six bedroom, 3.5 bath house with a four-car garage, oceanfront deck, a glass tile swimming pool, a jacuzzi and a two-bedroom guest house.
According to a Homes and Gardens article published shortly after the former couple purchased the house, it was a “treasured landmark” in Del Mar.
Gates has a current estimated worth of $134 billion and that wealth is what helped him to get construction going. Obtaining building permits is “nearly impossible” and takes a long time in normal circumstances, according to The Post, citing local officials.
Neighbors also told The Post that construction has been going around the clock, but local ordinances limit construction to 7am to 7pm Monday through Friday and 9am to 7pm on Saturday and Sunday, according to the city of Del Mar’s website.
In an odd twist, Gates has denied owning the property through a spokesperson speaking to The Post, “[Gates] does not own this property and he has never been there.” Multiple outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Business Insider all reported on Gates purchasing the home. Neighbors and insiders have also told The Post that Gates has visited the property at least twice in the last few months.
The property will reportedly serve as Gates’ “summer bachelor pad” once completed. Construction is planned through August but those who have seen the property have doubts. It appears to have a long way to go, according to photos published by The Post.
Neighbors hoping to get relief from the construction noise may be disheartened to hear that Gates’ $123 million Washington state mansion took seven years to build and renovate.
Gates became a bachelor after he and Melinda French Gates finalized their divorce in May 2021. Gates’ affair with a staffer in 2000 and his friendship with the now-deceased sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein were cited as some of the reasons for their separation.