Bill Gross is retiring with a $1.5 billion net worth - see how the 'Bond King' spends his fortune, from a $1.3 billion divorce to a massive real-estate portfolio

Hillary Hoffower

Feb 5, 2019, 01:40 IST

Bill Gross is retiring with a $1.5 billion net worth - see how the 'Bond King' spends his fortune, from a $1.3 billion divorce to a massive real-estate portfolio

REUTERS/Jim Young

"Bond King" Bill Gross is retiring with a net worth of $1.5 billion.

"Bond King" Bill Gross is retiring after more than 40 years in the financial industry.
Gross has amassed a $1.5 billion net worth, according to Forbes - at one point, his fortune reached at least $2.5 billion.
About $1.3 billion of his fortune went to ex-wife Sue Gross following a nasty divorce.
Gross largely spends his fortune on real estate and philanthropy.

"Bond King" Bill Gross is saying goodbye to Wall Street.

Gross, 74, is retiring from the financial industry he worked in for more than 40 years, according to a February 4 announcement. In 1971, Gross co-founded Pimco, where he served as the firm's managing director and chief investment officer. In 2014, he joined global asset management firm Janus Henderson.

During this time, Gross amassed a fortune that was worth at least $2.5 billion at one point. After finding himself embroiled in a nasty divorce, his net worth dropped to an estimated $1.5 billion - but that's nothing to scoff at.

Aside from the $1.3 billion that went to his now-ex-wife Sue Gross post-divorce, Gross has dropped a large chunk of his fortune on two things: real estate and philanthropy.

Throughout the years, Gross has purchased a series of homes along California's coast, namely in Laguna Beach, creating an impressive real-estate portfolio. Equally impressive is the $700 million he's donated to charity - and that doesn't even scratch the surface, seeing as he plans to focus on working with charitable organizations during retirement.

Below, see how Gross spends his fortune.

"Bond King" Bill Gross has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion.

Gross cofounded investment management firm Pimco in 1971. The firm would grow to reach a peak of $2 trillion in assets under management, and Gross's personal bank account grew with it.

In 1999, German insurer Allianz bought Pimco, and Gross began earning a $200 million annual salary. In 2013, he received a $290 million bonus.

In 2014, Gross left to join asset management firm Janus Henderson, where he managed a smaller portfolio of $1.5 billion.

Some of Gross's fortune is invested in the Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund, as well as closed-end municipal bond funds and stocks in Procter & Gamble Co. and Johnson & Johnson.

However, Gross used to be worth even more. His fortune reached $2.5 billion in 2017.

A messy divorce with his wife, Sue, that went on for two-plus years, caused him to drop off The Forbes 400 in 2018.

She received more than $1.3 billion and two of their cats.

The Grosses acquired quite the collection of heirlooms during their marriage, including antique clocks, luxury cars, and a $56 million art collection — half of which Sue received in the divorce.

This art collection included Picasso's "Les Repos," which sold for $36.92 million at Sotheby's auction house.

But Gross's biggest collection is real estate.

Gross purchased a 13,819 square-foot property in Laguna Beach's Irvine Cove back in 1988. While it's unknown how much he paid for it, it has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms.

Gross also owns a compound in Indian Wells, California. He reportedly purchased a lot there for $2.5 million in 1995 and built a 11,316 square-foot mansion with an infinity pool.

In 2002, Gross reportedly paid $20 million for a mansion on 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, California. He later sold it for $16.5 million, suffering a $3.5 million loss.

In 2009, he bought a bayfront home in Newport Beach for $23 million and tried to flip it. It reportedly sold for $20.8 million in April 2014.

In 2011, Gross bought Jennifer Aniston's Beverly Hills home for a reported $37 million.

In 2014, he bought two houses across the street and next door to his Irvine Cove mansion for $19.8 million and $16 million, respectively — a total of $35.8 million, all in cash.

He and Sue also owned a home in Corona del Mar and a condo in Park City, Utah.

In 2018 during the divorce, Gross and Sue separately spent nearly $150 million buying four homes in Laguna Beach over the course of one month in a bidding war, bringing their total home count in the area up to seven.

Gross paid $32 million for a house on the Pacific Coast Highway and $36 million for a 5,500 square-foot oceanfront house in Laguna Beach's Irvine Cove. It was the third-highest price ever paid for a single home in Orange County.

Sue was awarded a $70 million package of three homes they owned during their 30-year marriage, including their $36 million Laguna Beach house.

Gross had hired private security guards during the divorce.

As part of his West Coast lifestyle, Gross loves to practice yoga.

He also plays golf, having played at The Vintage Club and Big Canyon Country Club.

Gross is also an avid stamp collector. He's spent as much as $3 million collecting every stamp produced by the US from 1847 to 1869, and some of his collections have sold for up to $500,000.

Gross was once a professional blackjack player. He turned $200 into $10,000 after a four-month stint in Vegas. It paid for his UCLA business school tuition.

He has a penchant for Hermès ties, which range from $140 to $305.

But Gross has an even greater affinity for giving his money away. Bloomberg called him one of the world's biggest philanthropists.

He's donated as much as $700 million, and plans to donate his remaining billions. He told Bloomberg the amount was "staggering, even to me."

He mostly donates through the Sue and Bill Gross Foundation, which supports healthcare, medical research, and education. The foundation donated more than $21 million in 2018.

Upon receiving $81 million in a settlement with PIMCO for wrongful dismissal, he donated the money to the Sue and Bill Gross Foundation.

Much of his donation go towards health: $20 million to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, $20 million to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, $20 million to medical charity Mercy Ships, and $10 million to Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach.

The William and Sue Gross Family Foundation committed $40 million toward establishing the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing at the University of California.

Gross has also donated $23.5 billion to his alma mater, Duke University, for providing financial aid.

He's also given to arts and culture, donating $10 million to the Smithsonian Institution for a stamp-collecting gallery.

He and Sue wrote anonymous $15,000 checks to workers laid off from NASA's Space Shuttle program in 2012.

That's not to mention personal gifts he and Sue reportedly made toward American families in need.

Gross has also made worldwide charitable efforts. He worked with GiveDirectly, which donates to Africa's poor.

He also donated more than $19 million to the Millennium Villages Project, which focuses on the causes of extreme poverty in Africa.

Gross says he plans to work with charitable organizations during his retirement.

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