Here’s a real estate story that sums up the new “celebrity” of our times: According to Curbed LA, Markus “Notch” Persson, creator of the wildly popular interactive computer game Minecraft, recently outbid Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles for what is the most expensive single-family home sale in Beverly Hills history.
The house itself is a kind of celebrity, making news in August when it hit the market at $85M. The only normal part of its listing write up was this detail: “8 bedrooms.” From there, the home’s description verges into a kind of fun-house excess: Each of the 15 bathrooms, for instance, is outfitted with “Toto Neorest toilets at a price of $5,600 each.” From there, the opulence (or what stands in for opulence these days) ramps up to ridiculous: a candy room with M&M tower; a car showroom; bars fully decked with high-end vodka and/or tequila; a dramatic cliff’s-edge pool that you reach by stepping out through a 54-foot glass door; a home theater; a lavishly stocked wine cellar; a gym; and an 18-foot onyx dining room table embellished with Roberto Cavalli place settings valued at $3,700 each.
Want more? Apparently, 1181 North Hillcrest is for you then. And Persson wanted it all. His winning bid of $70M ensured he not only bought the house but all the insanity within it. So, everything listed above and also the bathroom with wall that opens completely to the outdoors for those who enjoy exposed bathing. Let’s not overlook either the “giant grenade art, the replica of James Dean’s motorcycle” or the three “high-definition 90-inch television screens” purported to teleport “panoramic views of Los Angeles from the roof into the downstairs lounge.”
What’s more outrageous, readers? That the Swedish Minecraft creator beat out America’s hippest power couple? Or that he paid $70M for such a home? Or Persson’s realtor’s comment that the whole thing was a bargain?
