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Still for Sale, 12 Years Later: Michael Jordan’s $15 Million Mansion
The 56,000-square-foot home, with personalized Jordan flags and his name painted on the basketball court, has languished on the market—but he hasn’t lost patience
Potential buyers who tour the Chicago-area compound must sign a nondisclosure agreement.
By Sarah Paynter, WSJ
Sept. 5, 2024 9:01 am ET
Basketball legend Michael Jordan has many records. He may add another: for a mansion that just won’t sell.
Since Jordan’s estate north of Chicago first listed for $29 million in 2012, and later dropped to around $15 million, it has sat unsold on the market. That has led some prospective buyers, brokers and pundits to ponder: Could Michael Jordan’s abode be too Michael Jordan for ordinary mortals?
A bespoke iron gate crowned with Jordan’s iconic number 23 guards the 61-year-old’s 56,000-square-foot home in Highland Park. Jordan’s distinctive silhouette—on a Nike logo—graces flags at the outdoor putting green and illuminates the home theater.
Still, depersonalizing the property is off the table, according to listing agent Katherine Malkin.
A gate adorned with Jordan’s number controls access to the compound owned by the former Chicago Bulls star who holds six NBA championship rings. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
“We haven’t really talked about that because it’s part of the draw. We don’t look at that as being a hindrance,” she says. The house also boasts a locker room, trophy room and full-size basketball court painted with the names of Jordan and his children, Marcus, Jeffrey and Jasmine.
Jordan, an aficionado of poker and cigars, installed a dedicated room with a humidor and poker tables. Other unusual features include doors from the original Playboy Mansion in Chicago and a built-in aquarium.
Highly personalized celebrity homes often prove challenging to sell. Retired baseball luminary Derek Jeter’s New York lake home, replete with turrets and a Statue of Liberty replica, took six years and almost $10 million in discounts before selling for $5.1 million this summer. The musician Slash’s L.A. lair, with its stripper pole and skull sconces, was on the market for two years, and actor Joe Pesci’s Jersey Shore home, which the Los Angeles Times said would be at home in the movie “Goodfellas,” took three years to sell.
The looky-loos arrive
Meanwhile, Jordan’s very Jordanesque home and its protracted for-sale status has undoubtedly made it something of a curiosity.
Tourists regularly pose for photos at the entrance gates, and fans without the requisite funds frequently contact Malkin to request tours and special discounts on the property, she says. Last year, a teenager was arrested in connection with a break-in at the estate, which Malkin says has full-time security staff, and just recently, media outlets and social-media users were fooled by a since-debunked TikTok video purporting to show flooding inside Jordan’s mansion.
Price reductions haven’t aided the Jordan camp so far, but the basketball great isn’t running low on patience. He lowered the price to $14.855 million in 2015 (yes, these digits total Jordan’s number 23) and isn’t planning on lowering it further, says Malkin. He even pulled out of a 2013 auction partially because he didn’t want the house to go for less than it was worth, adds Malkin, who says he spent about $50 million building the estate.
“I think most of the people would have gotten anxious at some point and said, you know, I think I’ll just reduce it and reduce it and reduce it,” she says.
Jordan’s team has tried various innovative sales strategies. Real-estate agent Kofi Nartey helped market to fans with dramatic, viral videos glamorizing the opportunity to own Michael Jordan’s house. He produced the videos in English and Mandarin, given Jordan’s popularity in China.
In a headline-generating interview, Nartey even promised a pair of every model of Air Jordan sneakers for the buyer.
“The person who buys the home is not buying it just to have a big house but is buying it really for bragging rights and for the legacy that Michael Jordan built with the property,” says Nartey.
Numerous investors and organizations have taken shots, seeking to repurpose the mansion into a Michael Jordan museum, conference center, after-school program or condos. None have panned out. A challenge: limited parking and neighborhood zoning, according to Highland Park City Manager Ghida S. Neukirch.
Malkin attributes the lack of residential interest, in part, to the massive home’s location about 2 miles west of coveted waterfront houses lining Lake Michigan.
“Most people who are spending that kind of money in the Chicago area want to live on the lake,” she says. “He chose to not live on the lake because they wanted privacy.”
‘Why? Because he can’
Potential buyers who tour the house must sign a nondisclosure agreement, says Malkin. She adds that dozens of qualified buyers have gone through in the past few years. Alas, no deals.
For upkeep, Jordan pays a housekeeper, manager and security staff, plus has paid over $1 million in taxes since the home was listed, according to property records. He reroofed the house this spring, and about a year ago considered taking it off the market and keeping it for himself.
“Why? Because he can,” says Malkin, who adds that Jordan’s kids also sometimes visit.
Jordan amassed $94 million in his professional sports career and $480 million from Nike from 2000 to 2012, plus deals with Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck. He recently sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets, a team valued at about $3 billion at the time of the sale.
Jordan bought the roughly 7-acre property in 1991 and built the house around 1994 with his ex-wife Juanita. He assumed full ownership after they divorced in 2006. Jordan, now married to model Yvette Prieto, previously told the Journal he decided to sell because his children are grown and he splits time between several residences, including in the Charlotte, N.C.-area and Jupiter, Fla. Jordan’s press representative declined to comment.
Malkin remains optimistic, reasoning that unique homes require unique buyers, and that the property will suit someone seeking ample space and privacy.
Jordan is “looking for a conventional, clean sale,” she says. “He doesn’t want someone there to sign a T-shirt. He’s willing to wait.”
Write to Sarah Paynter at Sarah.paynter@wsj.com
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