Microsoft founder Bill Gates is reportedly interested in purchasing property both in Mykonos and part of the so-called 'Greek Maldives' according to a The BHMA newspaper report.
The media outlet said Gates in discussions for the purchases after his recent stay on the island of Mykonos and is looking at acquiring part of the Petalioi complex, between Marmari, Evia and Rafina 'with its rich prehistory of equally rich owners, have a total area of 22.5 square kilometers and consist of 10 islands and islets that administratively belong to the Municipality of Karystos. Their property titles over the centuries have passed – in whole or in part – by Omer Pasha of Karystos, who according to legend housed his numerous harem, Ioannis Paparrigopoulos, Tsar Nicholas I, the son and successor of Alexander B ‘and from him, in 1867, as a wedding gift, to his niece of Olga Konstantinovna, later Queen Olga of Greece.'
It would appear Gates has fallen in love with Greece following his business related visits as recently as last week where he was invited by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.
As it is known, Microsoft will make a significant investment in Greece – a large data centre to support cloud services aimed at customers of the Microsoft Azure platform.
The infrastructure of this data centre will be constructed in three different areas in Attica that will be interconnected and will have coverage in the wider region of Southeast Europe.
The mega investment will be fully operational in two-three years.
Gates was in Greece in 2008 to inaugurate the Microsoft Innovation Centre in Athens.
During his visit to Davos, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, and the President of the company, Brad Smith, as part of the work of the World Economic Forum.
The meeting referred to the significant progress that has been made in the digitisation of the state and public services in Greece in the last three years.
The Prime Minister presented to Nadella and Smith the rapid development of the technological sector in Greece, the dynamics of start-ups, which attract strong investment interest from abroad, and the complex strategic advantage offered by the geographical position of Greece, the highly skilled workforce and connectivity to the wider region.
Mitsotakis underlined that Greece was a pioneer of the digital vaccination certificate in the EU and organisation of a fully digital vaccination campaign.
The meeting also discussed the progress in the implementation of Microsoft’s investment for the creation of a hub with three data centres in Attica.
