In December 2014, a Swedish computer programmer pulled off the kind of real estate purchase that makes even Beverly Hills stop and stare. Just weeks after Microsoft completed its $2.5 billion acquisition of his company, “Minecraft” creator Markus “Notch” Persson paid $70 million in cash for a spectacular hillside mansion. He closed in six days, set a Beverly Hills residential sales record, and beat out Jay-Z and Beyoncé for the keys.
Twelve years later, Persson is ready to sell. According to the MLS, he has listed the property for $70 million — exactly what he paid in 2014. That price comes after he spent millions adding a recording studio and nightclub, and before accounting for the considerable expense of owning and eventually selling a home of this size.
From Building Virtual Worlds to Buying a Beverly Hills Estate
Persson released an early version of “Minecraft” in 2009, and by the time Microsoft came calling he had already collected hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing payments, plus a 71% stake in Mojang. When Microsoft completed its $2.5 billion acquisition in November 2014, that stake represented $1.775 billion of the purchase price before taxes. Persson was 35, enormously wealthy, and leaving behind the company that had consumed much of his adult life. Within weeks, he had purchased one of the most conspicuous homes in Los Angeles.
The Mansion Beyoncé and Jay-Z Wanted
The property was the work of Bruce Makowsky, the handbag entrepreneur turned developer of extravagantly furnished luxury homes. He built it on speculation — no committed buyer waiting — and put it on the market for $85 million. Located at the end of a cul-de-sac in Trousdale Estates, it offered sweeping views across Los Angeles toward the Pacific Ocean. Beyoncé and Jay-Z toured the property, but Persson ultimately secured it, paying $15 million below the original asking price yet still establishing a Beverly Hills sales record. His ability to pay cash and complete the purchase in six days brought the transaction to a remarkably quick conclusion.
The sale also spared him the usual process of furnishing a new home. Makowsky had already selected everything, down to the place settings and bathroom accessories. Persson was buying a fully assembled billionaire lifestyle.
Two Pools, a Car Elevator, and $5,600 Toilets
The mansion sits on nearly an acre and contains eight bedrooms. Originally marketed as 23,000 square feet, it is described in the new listing coverage as 22,300 square feet. Glass walls frame the city views, and an infinity pool sits directly beyond the main living room; the primary suite has its own separate pool. The original amenities included an 18-seat home theater and a car elevator that transported vehicles to underground storage. The bathrooms featured Toto toilets priced at $5,600 apiece, while the furnishings included Hermès pieces, Roberto Cavalli linens and tableware, and a Bentley-designed living room set. Even the smaller details were extravagant: a candy room, stocked bars, cases of Dom Pérignon — and eight Oral-B toothbrushes, taking the promise that a buyer could move straight in to an unusually literal level.
He Once Said Someone Offered Him $80 Million
There is another detail that makes the new asking price particularly interesting. In a March 2015 interview, Persson said an anonymous buyer had offered him $10 million more than he paid, just weeks after his purchase — a proposed price of $80 million. He sounded pleased with the apparent instant appreciation: “At least I know now it was a good investment because it’s worth $10 million more than I paid.” He kept the house.
Getting $70 million back would still cost him millions. A sale at the full asking price would produce $70 million against a $70 million purchase price — no appreciation to cover the recording studio, nightclub, transaction expenses, or years of property taxes, insurance and maintenance. Every 1% of a $70 million transaction represents $700,000, and inflation has reduced the purchasing power of the dollars he would receive. The listing is handled by Aaron Kirman of Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California and Branden Williams of the Beverly Hills Estates; Kirman told The Wall Street Journal that Persson spends little time in Los Angeles and is committed to selling.
He did, of course, get 12 years of access to a remarkable home, complete with private recording sessions, parties and ocean views. But the investment confidence he expressed in 2015 makes for a striking comparison: back then, Persson thought his mansion had gained $10 million in weeks. Today, he is asking someone to pay him what he originally spent.
It is a familiar celebrity-real-estate pattern — tech fortunes poured into trophy homes, from Mark Zuckerberg’s Indian Creek compound to the fortune Mike Tyson lost and the debate over whether LeBron James is really a billionaire. The difference here is the flatline: twelve years, millions in improvements, and an asking price that has not moved a dollar.
Sources and notes: Purchase and listing details per MLS via Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Celebrity Net Worth; size figures vary between the original marketing (23,000 sq ft) and 2026 listing coverage (22,300 sq ft); the $80 million offer is Persson’s own 2015 statement. Asking prices are not sale prices.
