Bill Gates buys Jenny Craig's Horse Farm

Aerial view the Rancho Santa Fe ranch owned by Jenny Craig, now being sold to Bill Gates. The property includes …
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has purchased weight-loss icon Jenny Craig’s 229-acre thoroughbred training center in Rancho Santa Fe, which he plans to turn into a grand prix circuit for hunters and jumpers.
Gates, whose teenage daughter jumps horses competitively, paid $18 million for the facility in a deal that closed Sept. 12. It’s one of the highest prices secured for a property this year in San Diego County, where Gates also owns a home in the Del Mar Country Club. A spokeswoman for the Gates family confirmed the deal to buy the ranch Wednesday in a statement to U-T San Diego.
Forbes reports that Gates, whose net worth of $81 billion makes him America’s richest man, has spent money on horses before. A few years ago, Gates leased a home in Palm Beach, Fla. for $600,000 so his daughter Jennifer could be near Wellington’s Equestrian Festival, according to Forbes. Further, the Daily Mail reports that around that time Gates leased four elite jumping horses for $50,000 to $75,000 each for his daughter to train