• Medina, Washington, a Seattle suburb, is one of the richest towns in the US. • Some of the world's wealthiest people have called Medina home, from Bill Gates to Jeff Bezos. • I visited in May 2025 and spotted signs of ultra luxury, like hidden mansions and backyard yachts.

Some of the wealthiest people in the Pacific Northwest live in a 1.4-square-mile town on the shores of Lake Washington.

Their multimillion-dollar estates are nestled in pocket forests. Towering Douglas firs make it impossible to see their balconies and backyards as an onlooker. But if you venture through the woods to the shoreline, their yachts are in plain sight.

Medina is one of the wealthiest cities in Washington, and to me, it felt like an escape from reality.

With fewer than 3,000 residents, the town east

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