Minecraft founder Notch lists Beverly Hills mansion at the original price
Markus “Notch” Persson has listed his mansion in Trousdale Estates in Beverly Hills for sale at $70 million, the exact same price as when he bought it in December 2014. At the time, the property set a record for a Beverly Hills residential sale, and Persson won ownership with a cash offer over Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
The property is located at 1181 North Hillcrest Road, sits on nearly 1 acre, and has an approximate building area of 22,300 square feet, with 8 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms. Original amenities included a candy room worth $200,000, a wine cellar that can hold 2,500 bottles, including Dom Pérignon, a home theater and a pool; Persson later added a recording studio and a private nightclub equipped with a DJ booth. The developer was Bruce Makowsky.
According to listing agent Aaron Kirman of Christie’s International Real Estate, Persson decided to sell because he has spent less time living in Los Angeles in recent years, and he made clear that he wants to complete a sale. If it sells at the listing price, it would become the highest-priced Beverly Hills sale in 2026 and the second-highest in Los Angeles County, behind only Casa Encantada, which Peter Thiel bought for $130 million. In the same period, the median home price in Los Angeles has risen by more than double, while the ultra-luxury market has clearly cooled.
Source: public information (Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Real Deal, etc.)
ABAB AI Insight
After Microsoft acquired Mojang for $2.5 billion in 2014, Persson quickly turned about $1.75 billion in cash into a record-setting Beverly Hills asset, completing a leap from game developer to ultra-wealthy magnate. Twelve years later, listing it at no nominal gain reflects the erosion of pricing power in the ultra-luxury custom home (spec home) market after oversupply and a shift in buyer preferences toward “irreplicable experiences.” Persson’s reduced time in Los Angeles overlaps with the timing of California’s proposed one-time billionaire tax ballot measure (vote on November 3, 2026), but the broker publicly attributed the move only to lower usage frequency.
Cognitive laws
Listing at the original price does not mean value retention; the liquidity premium in the ultra-luxury market can be completely wiped out within 12 years.
Record sales that beat celebrities will ultimately return to the basic constraint of whether the buyer actually uses the property.
Adding a nightclub and recording studio did not lift the nominal price, showing that marginal entertainment features contribute little in a market where pricing power has already shifted.