Bill Gates jets in to Sydney for Christmas

Get ready Sydney. Billionaire Bill Gates and family have decided to spend their Christmas holidays in the harbour city.

The world's second richest man, along with his wife and three kids, will spend a month in Sydney renting out a $25,000-a-week mansion in Vaucluse, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Gates have leased the $35 million 'Portofino' property for three months, says the paper, to allow for the family to move in an extensive array of high-tech gadgetry and security measures.

And they won't be short of neighbours to hang out with. High profile names living just down the road include Leonardo DiCaprio and Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch. Or short of things to do: automotive baron Neville Crichton's Tuscan-style villa has a gym, cellar and a jetty.

But rather than stay indoors it looks like the Microsoft boss (worth $59 billion, according to Forbes) has already been out seeing the sights.

On Friday, Gates was out on a luxury cruiser on the harbour, according to reports. While on Sunday he and his wife Melinda lunched at the Manly Pavilion restaurant, dining on Sydney rock oysters and a shoulder of lamb.

According to proprietor John Codling, Gates "left a generous tip" and was travelling with "no entourage, they were just like any other couple".