Bill Gates vacations exactly like you would imagine the richest man in the world should. First up a relaxing game of tennis, pictured bottom left, in the morning before being helicoptered - not ferried - back to the superyacht you and your family have chartered to the tune of $5 million-a-week, pictured main and bottom center. Then an exuberant jet ski around the $330 million boat with wife Melinda and children Rory, Jennifer and Phoebe, bottom right, moored off the billionaires playground of Porto Cervo, Sardinia.
Style: Bill Gates returns to The Serene, the $330 million yacht he has chartered for $5 million-a-week. Currently moored off the coast of Sardinia, ItalyBill Gates vacations exactly like you would imagine the richest man in the world should.
First up a relaxing game of tennis in the morning before being helicoptered - not ferried - back to the superyacht you and your family have chartered to the tune of $5 million-a-week.
Then, an exuberant jet ski around the $330 million boat with wife Melinda and children Rory, Jennifer and Phoebe, moored off the billionaires playground of Porto Cervo, Sardinia.
The Microsoft founder and philanthropist - worth $76 billion - has taken time away from his busy schedule to relax with his family - renting The Serene, the 436ft yacht of Stolichnaya vodka magnate, Yuri Scheffler, as a luxurious base.
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Boating: The helicopter carrying Bill Gates approaches to land on The Serene -the world's 9th largest yacht - this week during the billionaire software pioneers vacation
Just bring your racket: Bill didn't need to bring much with him for his tennis match seeing as it was only a short hop from his yacht to court - via a helicopter
Ready to go: Bill Gates prepares for take-off to be returned to his $5million a week yacht moored of Porto Cervo in Sardinia. In an interview earlier this year, Gates said he doesn't plan to stay at the office for days at a time as he did in his younger days when he had 'energy and naivete' on his side
Approach: This wider shot shows the green-grassed landing pad that the Microsoft billionaire's helicopter waited for him on. Gates held the title of 'richest man in the world' for 15 out of the past 20 years, but he was succeeded- briefly- by Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim Helu for the past four years
Return: Keeping fit allows the 58-year-old to travel the world for his philanthropic ventures - such as working to rid the world of malaria
Opulence: The state room of The Serene is capable of hosting huge parties and guests of billionaires
Luxury: The Serene has the ability for two helicopters to land on deck - the circular pool seen in the middle of the boat can be transformed into a helipad
With 52 crew, The Serene also boasts a hanger for the helicopter, a seawater swimming pool, submarine hanger, a cinema and onboard WiFi.
LUXURY FIT FOR A BILLIONAIRE: THE $5 MILLION-A-WEEK BOAT CHARTERED BY BILL GATES
The Serene was built in 2011 for the owner of Stolichnaya vodka, Yuri Scheffler.
She is 436ft long and comes complete with a sundeck that has a wet bar, a wood fire pizza oven and a Teppenyaki grill.
She is capable of traveling 6,000 nautical miles on one tank of fuel, which is the same as traveling from London to New York and at least half way back again.
Her most impressive feature are her two helipads, but the luuxrious yacht does not shirk on features.
She also has an indoor climbing wall and a dedicated children's playroom to keep infants occupied.
She also has a fully equipped spa and club and three external swimming pools and one indoors.
Boasting an underwater viewing room, The Serene also has space or a large submarine able to reach a depth of more than 330 ft.
The opulent yacht also has a gym, swimming pool and two jacuzzis on deck.
The Serene also has a full library, health spa, underwater viewing room, nightclub and indoor climbing wall for the Microsoft billionaire and family to enjoy.
It has a cruising speed of 15 knots and is able to travel 6000 nautical miles on a full tank - which is almost the distance from London to New York and back again.
Indeed, the Gates family have been vacationing off the coast of Porto Cervo for years.
Every August the coastal town off the coast of Sardinia becomes a literal billionaires playground.
Originally owned by the Aga Khan, who bought up 50km of coastline almost as a private beach in the 1960s, Porto Cervo is now undergoing a mini-boom since he sold it to a consortium of bankers in the early part of the 21st century,
It is where Princess Diana spent her final days before her fated trip to Paris.
Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and ex-British prime minister Tony Blair have spent time relaxing in the sun there.
Now dotted with Louis Vuitton and Gucci stores, the coastline is the perfect spot for the richest man in the world to unwind.
However, they may be the children of the world's richest man, but Rory, Jennifer and Phoebe probably should enjoy this vacation while they can - because their father is not leaving them any of his $76 billion fortune.
Back on the boat: Bill Gates aboard The Serene with his wife, Melinda
Which wetsuit? Bill Gates looks for suitable gear to wear for a jetski while his son, Rory, runs past him
Family fun: Bill Gates, wife Melinda, daughter, Phoebe, son Rory and daughter Jennifer (being pulled from water) prepare to get wet off the coast of Porto Cervo
Adventure: The Gates family get ready to jet ski aboard the $5million-a-week superyacht The Serene which the billionaire is renting from the owner of the Stolichnaya vodka brand
Rested: Melinda Gates walks the decks of The Serene later that day while her husband prepares to head out again for a jet-ski
In a rare insight into his personal life in March, the Microsoft founder and his wife, Melinda, opened up about how they are raising their family.
The couple, speaking at a TED conference in Vancouver, said their children will be encouraged to make their own way in the world without the help of billion-dollar trust funds.
Gates said that instead of money, they had given their two daughters and son a good education so they can learn how to rely on their own abilities rather than their parents' fortune.
'You’ve easily got enough money despite your vast contributions to the foundation to make them all billionaires,' conference organizer Chris Anderson said.
Super: The Serene cost $330million and boasts space for 24 guests and 53 crew and was delivered to its owner, Stolichnaya tycoon, Yuri Scheffler in 2011
But, according to Wired, Gates responded by saying: 'They won’t have anything like that. They need to have a sense that their own work is meaningful and important.'
'You’ve got to make sure they have a sense of their own ability and what they’re going to go and do,' he added.
Anderson likened raising three children in the world's richest family 'to a social experiment without much prior art' before asking the couple, who run the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, how they had decided to raise their family.
'We want to strike a balance so they have the freedom to do anything but not sort of a lot of money showered on them so that they can go out and do nothing,' Gates said.
He added that they have told their children most of the fortune would be left to their charity, which tackles poor health and poverty.
Beach day: Microsoft founder Bill Gates later made his way to a beach near Porto Cervo, Sardinia, with his wife, Melinda. The husband and wife married in 1994 and now run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle
Heat: Bill Gates used a boat to get to the beach after earlier transporting himself from his tennis match to his yacht via a helicopter. His foundation has assets worth $37.1 billion, thanks in part to contributions of shares from his mentor, American 'uber-investor' Warren Buffett
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