‘Minecraft’ creator asks $70 million for Beverly Hills mansion with 15 bathrooms, private nightclub
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- “Minecraft” creator Markus Persson has listed his Beverly Hills mansion for $70 million — the same price he paid in 2014, despite L.A.’s median home value more than doubling.
- The 22,300-square-foot estate, with a private nightclub and candy room, could become Beverly Hills’ priciest sale this year.
Markus Persson, the Swedish billionaire behind “Minecraft,” just listed his Beverly Hills mega-mansion for $70 million, one of the highest-priced properties listed in Los Angeles County this year.
In L.A.’s ailing luxury market, it’s an ambitious price tag but also a revealing one, given that Persson paid the same price for the home in 2014. Back then, spec houses — homes built without a specific buyer in mind — were selling like hotcakes.
But the market for such high-end properties has cooled. While the median L.A. home has more than doubled in value over the last 12 years, Persson’s price tag represents a 0% increase.
If it sells for $70 million, it’ll be the priciest home sale in Beverly Hills this year and the second-priciest in L.A. County behind Casa Encantada, a storied Bel-Air estate that sold to former PayPal Chief Executive Peter Thiel for $130 million at a foreclosure auction in September.
Persson bought the house from Bruce Makowsky, a developer known for jam-packing properties with extravagant amenities; one of his listings came with a $30-million fleet of exotic vehicles including a Bugatti as well as a sailboat and a helicopter used in the 1980s action series “Airwolf.”
This property came with plenty of bells and whistles as well: a $200,000 candy room, a 2,500-bottle wine cellar loaded with cases of Dom Perignon, and an art installation featuring a chrome machine gun.
Set on an acre overlooking L.A., the house spans 22,300 square feet with eight bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, an elevator, a movie theater and a swimming pool. Persson added a recording studio and private nightclub with a DJ booth.
“What makes the ultra-luxury market so fascinating is that buyers at this level aren’t simply looking for a home,” listing agent Aaron Kirman said. “They’re looking for something that sets them apart and cannot easily be replicated.”
Billionaire Peter Thiel has been revealed as the buyer of Casa Encantada, a storied Bel-Air mega-mansion that was auctioned off for $130 million over the summer.
Kirman added that Persson is selling the home because he no longer spends much time in L.A.
Persson reportedly beat out Jay-Z and Beyoncé when buying the property. The pair toured the house multiple times in 2014 before settling on an $88-million monolithic mansion in Bel-Air three years later.
Known as “Notch” in the gaming community, Persson founded Mojang Studios in 2009, and the company released “Minecraft” two years later. The sandbox-style game has since grown into the bestselling video game of all time. Three years later, he sold the company to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.
Kirman and Katia De Los Reyes of Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California hold the listing with Branden Williams and Rayni Williams of the Beverly Hills Estates.
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