After winning the$180 million jackpotin August 2014, Rick Knudsen purchased 845 acres of land on a mountain in Oak Glen, California. He said at the time that he and his family had lived in their home for 23 years, and though they promised to stay humble after winning, they couldn’t wait to purchase a new home.
“We really are very grounded people. But there’s nothing wrong with being grounded in a big house,” Rick Knudsen said during a press conference in 2014.
Courtesy Rick Knudsen
Adrian Van Anz and Jason Speth
A “big house” might have been a bit of an understatement. He bought the Eagle Crest Mountain Estate, which features a 16,000-square-foot rustic home, 155-acres of a buffalo ranch and farm, and 640-acres of his own mountain section with water rights.
After purchasing the home when it was incomplete and working to finish the estate to perfectly suit his family — a process he completed just within the last six months — he’s now choosing to sell the property for a cool $26 million, for a very good reason.
The estate is listed withCraig Strong at Pacific Union International, and according to a spokesperson for the realtor, Knudsen is moving because of his son, who suffers from a heart condition. The realtor didn’t share further details about the medical condition, but said doctors have told the family that he “would benefit from living at a lower elevation.” The mountaintop house sits 6,000 feet above sea level.
“It’s the time in their life that they’re ready to tone things down a little bit,” Karen Pierce, Rick Knudsen’s sistertold ABC 7. “And his son does have a heart problem, and the 6,000-foot level is too much pressure on him.”
The house will now have to find a new owner that appreciates its many luxurious ameniies.
Inside the five-bedroom main house, there’s a three-story elevator emblazoned with the Eagle Crest Mountain Estate logo, a 17-seat theater with a George Lucas sound system and an authentic movie snack counter outside, a fully-equipped gym and a wine cellar.
Designed to evoke Park City, Utah, mountain lodges, according to the listing, elements in the home such as exposed wooden beams, antler chandeliers and stone fireplaces give it a luxury “cabin in the woods” vibe.
The home also features a master suite with its own deck and private jacuzzi, astate-of-the art kitchen, and a sauna.
Attached to the main house and accessed via a separate entrance is a one-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen.
source: people.com
