Bill Gates Has Reportedly Racked Up $40,000 In Fines Over Horse Manure At His Florida Home

Bing MapsAn aerial view of the horse farm.

Bill Gates has apparently been creating a stink at his $8.7 million estate in Wellington, Florida.

According to Page Six, the Microsoft billionaire has been racking up daily fines for an illegal "horse-waste storage facility" on the three-acre property.

Gates purchased the home for $8.7 million in 2013. The family had previously rented the house when in Florida for daughter Jennifer's equestrian competitions. The home includes several horse-friendly features, like a 20-stall barn and a show-jumping arena.

But according to the Page Six report, Gates has been penalized for putting the horse manure bin too close to a nearby pond. This is in violation of Wellington code, which states that waste storage must be located at least 100 feet away from bodies of water. Gates has been penalized $250 a day for violating that code, dating back to July.

That may seem like chump change to a man worth more than $80 billion — and it probably is — but Gates has also been written up on a separate violation, reportedly because he failed to obtain a permit for the facility in the first place.

If you add those two charges together, Gates has racked up more than $40,000 in fines since July, just for improperly disposing of horse manure. 

From above, the facility does look very close to the water.