It's obviously the hottest new trend to hit the tech billionaire set since amassing fleets of private aircraft: global domination through extreme real estate transactions! Scarcely a week has elapsed since we first discussed the intriguing rumor that Apple was investing a hefty sum in HavenCo, a data haven company that's on-- and sort of is-- the Principality of Sealand, the world's smallest independent country. We proposed that this was a transparent attempt on Uncle Steve's part to further his plans for world domination by first controlling the finances of a tiny country, then assuming total control of that country, and finally annexing other nations by the liberal application of vast stores of HavenCo-generated wealth. (Really, could it be more obvious?) The end result, of course, is Emperor Steve ruling the world with a fruit-flavored fist in a translucent glove. Here's hoping that life under a benevolent dictatorship has its advantages, like tax breaks for Mac users and really cool multicolored currency featuring the glowing image of Steve in a turtleneck.

But wait! Steve's not the only rich geek laying out huge chunks of cash for strategically-important real estate deals. According to The Register, none other than the sweater-clad Bill Gates has just shelled out $19 million for part of Lanai, "the Hawaiian island where he tied the knot with Mrs. Gates." (Actually, what he's done is buy 6.3% of a property company called Castle & Cooke, which just happens to own "much" of Lanai.) Awww, isn't that romantic? Well, yeah, that's just what he wants you to think; if you're marvelling at the prospect of a rich geek shoveling wads of money into a sentimental undertaking, you're probably too busy to notice what's really going on. See, while Steve's plan is to take over a tiny country and make it huge, Bill's taking the less visionary (big surprise) and more obvious route to planetary control: he's buying part of the most powerful country in the world. Mark our words-- once he owns part of Lanai, he'll go on to buy the whole state, then Alaska, and finally the entire continental United States, working west to east. The only question remaining is whether he can close the deal on buying his own global superpower before Steve's empire annexes all of Europe and Asia and poses a formidable threat.

And lest you think this is a two-horse race, don't forget the wildcard: one Larry Ellison, who's got nearly as much wealth as Gates (some say more, depending on the stock market at a given moment) and a competitive streak eight miles wide. While one might expect Larry to go in on Steve's takeover plans, given that the two are bestest buddies, we think Larry's ego will push him to start his own global empire instead. In fact, right now he's probably counting his assets and trying to get a price for Tasmania or something. Billionaires will be billionaires, right?