Minecraft Creator Notch Is Selling His L.A. Mansion for the 'Low' Asking Price of $70 Million
Markus “Notch” Persson sold Minecraft developer Mojang to Microsoft back in 2014 for a cool $2.5 billion, then moved to the U.S. and casually outbid Jay-Z and Beyonce for a Beverly Hills mansion. At the time, it cost him $70 million. Now, he's selling up.
Despite L.A.’s median home value more than doubling, Notch is looking for a quick sale on the mansion, a 22,300-square-foot estate which features 15 bathrooms, a $200,000 candy room, and its own private nightclub.
According to the L.A. Times, the market for housing for the super rich has cooled in the past decade, hence the “low” asking price.
If it sells, it’ll be the most expensive home sale in Beverly Hills this year and the second-priciest in L.A. County. When Notch bought it, the house boasted a 2,500-bottle wine cellar, and an art installation with a chrome machine gun as the centrepiece, as well as eight bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, a movie theatre and a swimming pool.
Notch added the nightclub, as well as a recording studio and a DJ booth to host parties for the rich and famous of Beverly Hills. According to Notch, he doesn’t spend much time in L.A. anymore, hence the sale.
Interestingly, he’s not alone. The listing coincided with a broader L.A. exit by tech moguls. Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have set up homes in Florida to avoid Proposition 40, a proposed wealth tax being voted on next week which would, if passed, levy a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of all of California's billionaires.
Apparently, it’s a cause that’s united the rich. According to Politico, a record $612 million from more than 70 current and former California billionaires was pumped into this year’s state elections, with almost 50% of the funds aimed at defeating Proposition 40. Notch didn’t mention the tax as a reason for listing the property.
The Minecraft creator hasn’t put out any major video games since he sold Minecraft to Microsoft. The game is still one of the most popular in the world and continues to get regular updates. Microsoft recently launched Minecraft Dungeons 2, a sequel spinoff that turns the blocky Minecraft characters into warriors and mages in a Diablo-esque dungeon crawler. A Minecraft Movie, the big screen adaptation of the game, blew past $700 million at the box office. A sequel is in the works.