There’s a home-buying frenzy going on among the rich and famous – especially in the Southern California area. I was kind of curious to know what these people look for when house hunting – just what do people with more money than they know what to do with look for in a home?

Bill Gates

What does a tech titan with a spare $18 million do with the money? He buys a house, of course. In this case, the titan is Bill Gates and the home is in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. An upscale enclave in San Diego, home prices in “The Ranch” are not for the entry-level buyer. Back in 2011, in fact, the neighborhood had the fourteenth most expensive ZIP code in the United States.

Gates purchased the equestrian estate from diet diva Jenny Craig and “plans to turn into a grand prix circuit for hunters and jumpers,” according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Why? He’s a dad, that’s why.

Gates’ daughter jumps horses competitively so, naturally, Daddy stepped in to make life easier. He purchased 228 acres complete with a guesthouse, office, race track, five barns a vet’s suite and an olive orchard.

Gates, the country’s richest man, actually got a bargain on the place. Craig originally listed it at $30 million.

Jennifer Lawrence

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress at the age of 20, two years later she actually won the award, along with a Golden Globe, for best actress for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook.”

While the young’uns loved her in “Hunger Games,” she set many adult males’ hearts aflutter in last year’s “American Hustle.” Rumor has it that this 24-year old has a net worth of $40 million. Not bad for a Kentucky-born daughter of a children’s camp manager and a construction worker.

So, what does an incredibly wealthy young woman want in a new home? We can look to her recent purchase of Jessica Simpson’s former home for the answer.

First, it appears she wanted a roomy home with lots of bedrooms. The Beverly Hills mansion she purchased has 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms in 5,500 square feet of luxurious living space.

We can also assume she craves privacy, as most A-list actresses do. Her new digs are surrounded by a wall and they’re gated. She is also now the proud owner of a koi pond, stone courtyard and a swimming pool.

Inside she has a gourmet kitchen, a breakfast room and a media room.

Her new neighbors include Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis.

Lady Gaga

$24 million. That’s what Lady Gaga just paid for her new home across the street from Malibu’s Zuma Beach, according to TMZ. If you’re saying to yourself “Oh my, I can’t even imagine the kind of home
that would attract a buyer like Lady Gaga,” you’re on our wavelength.

Here are just a few of the weirder aspects of the home:

• An underground “bat cave,” according to Curbed LA. She’ll access the bat cave from a secret door in the living room. Once there, she can peruse her wine collection, watch a movie in the theater or bowl on the vintage two-lane bowling alley.
• A safe room. You know, like in the Jodie Foster film “Panic Room.”
• A bocce ball court.

Well, we shouldn’t be too surprised by the above. What else might a Lady Gaga look for in a new home? Like Lawrence, she apparently needs   lots of room, so this 10,270-square foot home with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms fit the bill.

She likes to work out and now has a place to do that. The home’s office is attached to a gym and an elevator. Other features of the home include a saltwater pool, guest cottage, a stable to hold eight horses and a dressage ring. Six acres holds all this and $24 million bought it  all.

What would you want in a home if the price didn’t matter? Ah, the imagination runs wild.

Gates: World Economic Forum swiss-image.ch/Photo by Sebastian Derungs

Jennifer_Lawrence_at_the_83rd_Academy_Awards.jpg: Mingle MediaTV

©Stephen Carlile/CC-BY-SA-3.0