

Notch Buys Beverly Hills Mansion - marktangotango
http://bhcourier.com/beverly-hills-news-70-million-is-highest-price-ever-in-beverly-hills-for-a-home/

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Udo
There are certain aspects about Notch's rise to fame and fortune that make his
story more inspiring to me than practically any other celebrity. He got
wealthy doing what he loved, he never bullied anyone or got into any kind of
real drama, he didn't need to build an oppressive empire, his product was
something that enabled and inspired people in itself, and when it wasn't fun
anymore he just quit and is (from the looks of it) currently enjoying life.

It's immensely comforting to know that this is possible, unlikely and
unconventional as it may be. I'd much like to see more Notches out there
making it big, as compared to the flood of Steve Jobs-wannabe assholes who are
on a perpetual mission of conquest and destruction.

~~~
boracay
I would imagine the biggest opportunity of "unexpected wealth" is that you
have the benefit of knowing better. As in that you don't have to value the
same things as society at large and can go on and do things that really
matter. Seems like he's wasting that opportunity.

~~~
Udo
_> As in that you don't have to value the same things as society at large_

He's not from a rich background, is not well-connected, is not a business
person, is not stunningly young or good looking, is not being sponsored by a
media conglomerate - he is just a nerdy nice guy. I'm having trouble seeing
the conformity you ascribe to him. In fact, he started out by being different.

 _> can go on and do things that really matter. Seems like he's wasting that
opportunity._

It's depressing but interesting that big-time CEOs who are unpleasant in every
way imaginable are somehow beyond reproach as long as they make a big show of
donating a bit to charity here and there, but when someone who's not "a
captain of industry" or a line-manufactured superstar buys something
extravagant, people's propriety alarm bells start going off.

You also seem to imply that his wealth is somehow random and undeserved, and
that he should retroactively work on deserving it - as if Minecraft didn't
have an enormously positive impact on many people (including children)
already.

~~~
boracay
I don't really follow your reasoning, we probably have quite different
outlooks on the subject.

No he doesn't come from a rich background. That's the point. A lot of people
that end of rich come from a background where vanity is very important. They
then have to spend a large part of their life trying to achieve that goal.
That's why I don't care about "captains of industry". I don't expect any
better, they've already "sold their soul".

I don't necessarily dislike people like that, because it can be very hard to
opt-out of that life. The classic case is where you father works to much and
neglects your mother, which self medicates a bit to much and in turn neglects
you. So the only thing you know is trying to be your father to rationalize
your sense of abandonment.

When people who doesn't have that background become rich and can do whatever
they want, but instead opts-in to those values I think it's sad. Maybe he has
personal problems of his own, or he just don't care anymore or whatever, I'm
not going to be first in line to celebrate the guy. Because buying the most
expensive house in the most vain place in the world is just not something I
value.

Minecraft is still pretty cool though.

------
georgespencer
Good for him. I also enjoy the fact that he's bought something which I can
imagine would be relatively straightforward to recreate in the game which got
him there.

People saying it's a "tasteless piece of real estate" seem misguided. It's a
lovely building, architecturally. I don't think the furnishings do it justice
(it's all too plush and nouveau) but it's a really lovely design.

~~~
Fuxy
To be honest it's probably not something I would do. I mean it's certainly a
lovely house but it is 70 million worthy?

A slightly more modest but spacious house on the outskirts of the city is more
my style.

I mean imagine how many other cool things you could do with that money instead
of having sit in some house.

Well regardless it's his money and he can do whatever he wants with it
although i wish he would invest it in something more interesting.

~~~
georgespencer
> i wish he would invest it in something more interesting

Something I learned the hard way: it's super hard to even politely suggest
that there are better ways for people to spend their money without coming
across as churlish. Be happy for the triumph of the nerd!

------
pgl
This is almost like an article from The Onion: Rich Person Buys Big House In
Expensive Neighbourhood.

------
mike-cardwell
I know this is primarily a forum for American capitalists, but am I the only
person here who would feel utterly ashamed of myself for spending 70 million
dollars on a house? I'd feel outright embarrassed to admit it to any of my
friends. The good you could do with that sort of money... And then to just
blow it on a house.

~~~
krig
I think it is difficult to imagine what it would actually be like to have that
kind of money, the Minecraft success is such a ridiculous outlier. He pretty
much went from being an average swede with little savings to having more money
than everyone. At this point, he can give away millions of dollars every month
and still end up having more money than he started with.

In theory I agree with you in your sentiment, but I have a hard time truly
imagining my life with that kind of money.

~~~
rertrree
I'd be careful if I were him. His income is gone as far as I know. Unless he
does some smart investing with the current cash reserve he could be broke in
~10 years.

Just an interesting observation; Minecraft was sold for 2.5B $, let's assume
Notch got 1.5B $ out of it. Buying that house alone cost him 5% of his entire
wealth.

~~~
arfliw
>Unless he does some smart investing

This is an investment. He didn't throw a $70 million party, he bought an asset
he can sell in the future and which he presumably thinks will increase in
value over time.

And anybody who just became a billionaire is not going to stick that money
into a savings account, they will get hooked up with a very good financial
advisor who will help them to grow their wealth. Say he has $1 billion, a
decent but not great return on that would be 8% a year. That's $80 million! He
could buy one of these every year, spend $5 million and still have $5 million
left over. And that's exactly how he should and presumably will manage his
wealth. You don't spend your wealth, you grow it and spend some of the income
it produces. Which is precisely what any rookie financial advisor would teach
him on day 1.

------
marktangotango
>>Beverly Hills recorded the highest-priced sale in its history Thursday at
$70 million for an 8-bedroom, 15-bath home in Trousdale Estates.

I've often wondered what Notch intends to do with his Minecraft millions.
Looks like he's "loading up the truck and movin to Beverly, Hills that is".
Sounds like a nice house, kind of an odd bedroom to bath ratio though.

~~~
waterlesscloud
From what I've seen about it online, it's designed from the ground up to be
optimized for entertaining. In other words, a party house. In that case having
plenty of bathrooms makes more sense!

~~~
topbanana
I suppose it would depend on the type of party

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johnyzee
I freaking love everything about the story of Notch and Minecraft, including
this. I want to live in a world where a geek can sit in his bedroom and create
some cool shit, that enables him buy a $70 million mansion in Beverly Hills.

~~~
rertrree
Don't correlate creating games with money. He was really lucky; there were
other very similar games on the scene at that time, his just happened to
stick.

The observation should really be: creating anything interesting gives you
potential to be wealthy.

~~~
Torgo
Yeah, how is the guy who made Infiniminer doing?

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nly
> John Aaroe said, “I have been in this market for over 30 years and have
> never seen the level of growth that the luxury market has experienced in the
> past year, with no end in sight.”

Hyperbole, or truth? and why?

~~~
jahnu
The top 0.1% are doing really really well

[http://equitablegrowth.org/research/exploding-wealth-
inequal...](http://equitablegrowth.org/research/exploding-wealth-inequality-
united-states/)

~~~
pgl
I think the top 0.1% are always doing really well, by definition, no?

~~~
crispweed
No. If all were equal the top 0.1% would be doing exactly as well as everyone
else.

~~~
icebraining
Then how why would they be the "top" 0.1%? If everyone is equal, there is no
"top".

~~~
lultimouomo
> Then how why would they be the "top" 0.1%? If everyone is equal, there is no
> "top".

Start from:

If all were _almost_ equal the top 0.1% would be doing _more or less_ as well
as everyone else.

Then take the limit for almost -> exactly

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wtf_is_up
No surprise that the mansion looks like it was made out of blocks.

Also amusing to see a nerd outbid entertainment megacouple JayZ/Beyonce.

------
gmays
What cracked me up is if you watch the video advertising the home on the
website
([http://1181hillcrest.com/video.html](http://1181hillcrest.com/video.html))
the guy's contact email address is a Gmail address.

If you're offering a home at $85,000,000 (the original list price) and you
even create a website for the property, at least spring the extra $12/year for
your own domain name.

~~~
ema
Except it's not just $12/year for the domain name but also all the hassle of
having to administrate it or dealing with someone who administrates it for
you. Gmail does have a big convenience bonus.

~~~
asantos3
Except Google does offer gmail for work that lets you add a custom domain
name.

------
easytiger
> When the home was purchased, the Minecraft creator also purchased all of the
> furniture for $6 million.

I know good furniture is expensive, but seems like a lot!

~~~
johnyzee
I think, when you have the kind of money that Notch now does, your time
becomes by far your most precious asset. Saving the hassle of interior
decoration probably makes it well worth it for him.

Tangentially, it is probably a lot of pressure to be that rich. Must be easy
to feel that you are not making the most of it, when at any given moment you
could be doing whatever ridiculously expensive thing you can imagine, rather
than sitting in a dentist's chair or being stuck in traffic somewhere.

~~~
jonlucc
Right, but surely if he wanted to, he could hire someone to do it his way for
$5 million. He probably just likes the way the furniture fits the house or
something like that.

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nullsocket
I'm assuming his accountant told him to make a large investment/purchase for
tax reasons, homes are an easy write-off when your wealthy.

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a3n
Those chairs in the first picture (city on left, chairs on right) look like
pumpkins.

------
crispweed
Façade seems kind of blocky. ;)

~~~
CmonDev
It was an easy sell once they figured out that he is afraid of creepers:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=creeper+suit](https://www.google.com/search?q=creeper+suit)

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geophile
Wasn't this the house owned by the douchebag director in Mulholland Drive?

~~~
waterlesscloud
No, but it does very vaguely remind me of the house in THE LIMEY.

[http://www.estately.com/listings/info/2210-astral-
drive](http://www.estately.com/listings/info/2210-astral-drive)

------
unixpunx
Glad to see he made it out of Sweden in time and that this time his millions
didn't go for a wife that divorced him just for the money.

------
yuvadam
Here's what this tasteless piece of real estate looks like:
[http://vimeo.com/102897742](http://vimeo.com/102897742)

~~~
staffordrj
I thought that candy bar looked familiar
[https://twitter.com/notch/status/545729155359207426](https://twitter.com/notch/status/545729155359207426)

~~~
Kiro
Not trying to be snarky but the pic was posted in connection with the news
being out.

