Billionaires' Eccentric Hobbies

By siliconindia | Friday, 10 October 2014, 12:32 Hrs

2. Bill Gates - worth $80 billion

Bill Gates is the former chief executive and chairman of Microsoft. As of September 2014, he is the second richest person in the world.

Gates has a passion of collecting the rarest pieces of art. Even if he has to shell out millions of dollars for that, it hardly matters. In 1994 he bought the Codex Leicester of scientific writings by Leonardo Da Vinci for $30.8 million.

He also owns a Porsche 930 Turbo, a Jaguar XJ6 and a Ferrari 348. He paid $36 million for Winslow Homer's Lost on the Grand Banks in 1998, a record price for an American painting at the time.

3. Bill Koch- worth $4 billion

Bill Koch is an American businessman, sailor, and collector. His boat was the winner of the America's Cup in 1992.

Koch is an avid collector of art and wine, and especially of maritime memorabilia. He has filed several high-profile suits against sellers of counterfeit wines, most notably a suit against Hardy Rodenstock for the sale of wine purported to have been owned by Thomas Jefferson.

Koch's collection of maritime memorabilia includes model ships, antique nautical instruments, and paintings of ships and seascapes.