'Minecraft' success helps its creator buy a $70 million mansion

It can be difficult for us commoners to fathom just how much money a billion is. So, if you need to see more than just a figure to fully digest the kind of wealth Notch got from selling Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion (yes, billion with a B), just take a look at his new Beverly Hills mansion. This is the house Minecraft bought, people: a $70 million estate with its own cinema, iPad-controlled fountains, automated glass doors, a panoramic view of LA and, best of all, a candy room, which is exactly what it sounds like. That amount includes all the expensive furniture and 90-inch TVs displayed in the mansion, along with cases of Dom Perignon champagne, because you don't celebrate buying houses like this with Two Buck Chucks.

Markus Persson (Notch's real name) apparently paid cash for the eight-bedroom, 15-bath property, six days after closing the deal. According to Bloomberg, Notch outmaneuvered and outbid interested celebrities, including Jay Z and Beyonce, who toured the house several times in the past few months. Then again, Jay and Bey are reportedly worth only $1 billion together, while Notch's net worth is between $1.5 to $2 billion. We'd look at other pictures of the property on its website, but we're too busy thinking of a billion-dollar idea to sell Apple/Microsoft/Facebook in the future.

[Image credits: 1181 North Hillcrest]