We scouted the homes of the top tech executives, and they all live in this San Francisco suburb for the 1%
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The celebrities of Silicon Valley live private lives. We don't know much about them outside of the mega-companies they lead, though it's fun to speculate on the shoes they wear, the restaurants where they feast, and their comings and goings at Burning Man.
One thing's for certain: many of the rich and famous tech executives come home to the same zip code.AdvertisementPublic records reveal that Silicon Valley billionaires including Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, HP CEO Meg Whitman, and Google chairman Eric Schmidt reside in the idyllic suburb of Atherton, California. In 2016, it was the third priciest zip code in the US, according to Forbes.
I recently spent the day in Atherton scouting the homes of top tech CEOS.
Atherton continues to be the most desirable zip code among tech billionaires.
Bruce Dunlevie, a founding partner of Benchmark Capital, has the ultimate hideaway in Atherton. A tree canopy blocks his four-bedroom, five-bath estate from public view.
The most expensive listing in Atherton boasts six bedrooms, nine baths, antique wood and Frenchstone floors, and centuries-old interior doors, according to the property's website.
Source: Gullixson
In March, early Tesla investor Alan Salzman listed his 9,000-square-foot Atherton manor for a whopping $39.75 million, which is up 300% from what he paid for the home in 2001.
Andreessen's home is located across the street from the Menlo Circus Club, a private social club that hosts horse shows, polo matches, and gala parties for the ultra-wealthy.
Marc Andreessen, inventor of the Netscape web browser and an influential venture capitalist, resides in a three-bedroom, four-bath home that's valued at $24 million on real-estate site Redfin.
Source: Redfin
He purchased the sprawling estate for $2 million in 1990, but it's worth about $5.5 million today, according to estimates by Zillow. The mansion spans 4,800 square feet.
Source: Zillow
Google chairman Eric Schmidt has quite the impressive real-estate portfolio, but his primary residence is a five-bedroom home at the top of a cul-de-sac in Atherton.
The incredible real-estate portfolio of Google billionaire Eric Schmidt »
But I couldn't make out much else. The home sits on two acres and reportedly has six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a movie theater, a spa, a pool, and seven fireplaces.
Source: Business Insider and Zillow
Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen scooped up a massive estate in Atherton for $27 million in 2013. A yard worker opened up the gate, giving a glimpse of the private driveway.
Source: Business Insider
When protesters with the Occupy movement rallied outside Whitman's home in 2012, they remarked on the modesty of her home. "Her house isn't very big," one was heard saying.
Source: InMenlo
Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, was once the owner of this white-clapboard colonial home in Atherton. The five-bedroom, four-bath manor sold for $6.6 million in April.
Notable residents over the years have included Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, brokerage magnate Charles Schwab, and tech investors Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen.
Despite their walls, Atherton estates still have an imposing presence from the street.
Mega-mansions line nearly every block. Many homes have fences or landscaping that prevent prying eyes from looking in. Each lot feels like its own gated community.
The median sale price in Atherton was $5.42 million in 2016, four times higher than that of San Francisco. That figure is highly conservative, according to local realtor Tom LeMieux.
Atherton is a small, mostly residential town located about 45 minutes south of San Francisco and less than 20 minutes from the offices of Facebook, Google, and Tesla.
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