My favorite part about writing articles for Celebrity Net Worth is that I discovered all the weird and unique ways in which people have made surprisingly massive fortunes. For example, Guy Laliberté went from homeless street performer to billionaire thanks to Cirque du Soleil. James Lebrino has amassed his multi-billion dollar fortune by producing almost every type of cheese used to make pizza in America. Ty Warner has invested a fortune from Beanie Babies into a vast luxury hotel empire. Ross Weiner became a billionaire thanks to Rockstar energy drinks.
Michael Kitridge is another great example.
In 1969, 17-year-old Michael needed a last-minute gift for his mother’s birthday. Desperate, he had an idea. Michael melts a bunch of random crayons in a milk carton to make a candle. Use shoelaces to wick the candle.
It’s unclear if his mother enjoyed the gift, but Michael fell in love with making candles. Within a few years, he was running a candle-making business out of the garage with a $2,000 bank loan and quit college to focus on his new venture. This project was the Yankee Candle Company.
When Michael Kitridge passed away in April 2019, he was a very wealthy man.
By the mid-1990s, a small candle business launched from the garage was generating $150 million annually in revenue. And in 1998, Michael sold 90% of the Yankee Candle to private equity firm Forstmann Little for $500 million. That’s the same as about $900 million today.
Michael spent lavishly. He owned a yacht. Dozens of supercars including many Jaguar, Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini cars. He had a 20,000-square-foot beachfront home in Jupiter, Florida that had a tennis court, recording studio, and a 6,000-square-foot gym. He once paid $20,000 for one bottle of wine at a restaurant and proceeded to split it up with the kitchen staff.
But of all Michael’s extravagance, his greatest in literal sense and only wow factor was his property in Leverett, Massachusetts, which he called…
Juggler Meadow Estate
And “real estate” is not a good word to describe this place. What you are about to see is a complex / real estate / mansion / amusement park / car museum and more. Some have called it “Disneyland Massachusetts”.
Honestly, this property is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Wait until you see the indoor water park.
What you are about to see is a 60-acre property that features:
- 120,000 square feet of living space between the main house and multiple guesthouses
- 50,000 square feet building with indoor water park and arcades
- two car sheds
- Four tennis courts
- 9 hole golf course
- indoor basketball court
- recording studio
This property hit the market for the first time. Asking price is
$23 million:
While watching the video above, here are some of the highlights and timestamps:
- The 50-second mark: a barn that has been converted into a car museum with a pool table and stocked bar.
- 1:04: Rooftop driving range leads to a 9-hole golf course
- 1:15: Separate bowling complex, professional arcade, gym, indoor tennis court/amphitheater
- 1:39: Indoor water park. Words don’t do it justice.
Have you ever seen a house like this in your life? Reminds me of Biodom. Imagine you are trapped here?!
Now, to be fair, this home tour and video have received some criticism from the online Peanut Show.
For example, I’ve watched the video tour dozens of times and still don’t understand the plot. Why does a man sleep at first? Who is this other man in the suit and why does he walk into the palace without saying a word to any of the people?
Why do their random sexy girls play chess in their evening dresses on the balcony in one scene and then wash a car and play tennis later?
Internet buffs don’t seem to outrun the house itself for obvious reasons. But did you also happen to notice the five carrots in the kitchen? Five islands. Eagle-eyed viewers also highlighted the seventeen kitchen sinks. And why on earth is there a full bar and fireplace with multiple leather sofas in the indoor tennis suite?
If you had the money, would you buy this mansion?
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