Markus "Notch" Persson, the creator of Minecraft, is selling his Beverly Hills mansion for $70 million, the same price he paid for the estate in 2014. Persson, who sold Minecraft developer Mojang to Microsoft for $2.5 billion that year, outbid Jay-Z and Beyonce for the property.
The 22,300-square-foot estate features 15 bathrooms, a $200,000 candy room, and a private nightclub. It also includes a 2,500-bottle wine cellar and previously featured an art installation with a chrome machine gun centerpiece. Persson has since added the nightclub, a recording studio, and a DJ booth.
According to the L.A. Times, the market for high-end housing has cooled in recent years, contributing to the "low" asking price for the property. If sold at this price, it would represent the most expensive home sale in Beverly Hills this year and the second-priciest in L.A. County.
Persson stated that he no longer spends much time in Los Angeles, which is the primary reason for the sale. His decision to sell coincides with a trend of tech moguls relocating from California, with figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin establishing residences in Florida. This exodus has been linked to a proposed wealth tax, Proposition 40, which is set to be voted on soon. Billionaires have reportedly spent a record $612 million to oppose the measure.
Since selling Minecraft, Persson has not released any major video games. Minecraft remains one of the world's most popular games, with ongoing updates and spin-offs like Minecraft Dungeons 2. The franchise's big-screen adaptation, a Minecraft movie, has grossed over $700 million at the box office, with a sequel currently in development.