My favorite part about writing articles for Celebrity Net Worth is that I get to uncover all the weird and unique ways people made surprisingly massive fortunes. For example, Guy Laliberté went from homeless street-performer to billionaire thanks to Cirque du Soleil. James Leprino made his multi-billion-dollar fortune by producing pretty much all of the cheese used to make pizza in America. Ty Warner parlayed a fortune made from Beanie Babies into a vast luxury hotel empire. Russ Weiner became a billionaire thanks to Rockstar energy drinks.
Michael Kittredge is another great example.
In 1969, a 17-year-old Michael needed a last-minute gift for his mother's birthday. Desperate, he had an idea. Michael melted a bunch of random crayons into a milk carton to make a candle. He used a shoelace for the candle wick.
It's unclear if his mother enjoyed the gift, but Michael fell in love with making candles. Within a few years he was operating a candle-making business out of the garage using a $2,000 bank loan and dropping out of college to focus on his new venture. That venture was the Yankee Candle Company.
When Michael Kittredge died in April 2019 he was an extremely rich man.
By the mid-1990s, that little candle venture launched from a garage was generating $150 million per year in revenue. And in 1998 Michael sold 90% of the Yankee Candle Company to private equity firm Forstmann Little for $500 million. That's the same as around $900 million today.
Michael spent lavishly. He owned a yacht. Dozens of super cars including multiple Jaguars, Ferraris, Bentleys and Lamborghinis. He had a 20,000 square-foot beachfront home in Jupiter, Florida that had a tennis court, recording studio and 6,000 square-foot gym. He once paid $20,000 for a single bottle of wine at a restaurant and proceeded to split it with the kitchen staff.
But out of all of Michael's extravagances, his biggest both in literal terms and just in sheer wow-factor was his estate in Leverett, Massachusetts which he named…
Juggler Meadow Estate
And "estate" really isn't a good word to describe this place. What you're about to see is a combination compound/estate/mansion/amusement park/car museum and more. Some have called it the "Disneyland of Massachusetts."
Honestly, this property is unlike anything I've ever seen. Wait til you see the indoor water park.
What you are about to see is a 60-acre property that features the following:
- 120,000 square feet of living space between the main house and multiple guest houses
- 50,000 square foot building with indoor water park and arcade
- Two car barns
- Four tennis courts
- 9-hole golf course
- Indoor basketball court
- Recording studio
This property just hit the market for the first time. It's asking price is
$23 million:
As you watch the above video, here are some highlights and time stamps:
- 50-second mark: One of the two barns that have been converted to car museum with pool table and full bar.
- 1:04: Roof-top driving range leading to 9-hole golf course
- 1:15: Separate compound for bowling alley, professional arcade, gym and indoor tennis court/amphitheater
- 1:39: Indoor water park. Words don't do it justice.
Have you ever seen a house like that in your life? It reminds me of biodome. Imagine being quarantined here?!
Now, to be fair, this home and video tour have received some critiques from the internet peanut gallery.
For example, I have watched the video tour a dozen times and I still don't understand the plot. Why is the guy sleeping in the beginning? Who is this OTHER guy in the suit and why is he walking through the mansion without saying a word to any of the people?
Why are their random hot girls playing chess in evening gowns up in the balcony in one scene then washing a car and playing tennis later on?
Internet gawkers also can't seem to get over the house itself for obvious reasons. But did also happen to notice the FIVE islands in the kitchen? FIVE ISLANDS. Eagle-eyed viewers also highlighted the kitchen's SEVEN sinks. And why on earth is there a full bar and fireplace with multiple leather couches at the indoor tennis pavilion?
If you had the money, would you buy this mansion?
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