
Former Microsoft CEO and philanthropist Bill Gates has used his wealth to create a unique art collection over the decades. In 1998, he purchased Winslow Homer's "Lost on the Grand Banks" masterpiece for $36 million, a then record buy.
Gates' most intriguing addition to his artefact collection could be Leonardo da Vinci's handwritten scientific journal, "The Codex Leicester," with entries estimated between 1504 and 1508. Gates paid a jaw-dropping $30.9 million for the artefact.