Buyer Who Purchased Michael Jordan's Chicago Mansion Explains Why He Bought It

Michael Jordan's mansion at 2700 Point Lane, Highland Park, Chicago finally sold this month after being on the market for 12 years. The buyer's identity wasn't revealed at first but we now know it's a Nebraska native named John Cooper. Cooper recently spoke to the Lincoln Journal Star about buying the mansion for $9.5 million. 

"I remember seeing the home for sale and thinking how cool it would be for the person that buys the home," Cooper said. "... My favorite player to watch was always Jordan. He made shots that seemed impossible, and he got it done on defense too."

Jordan had first listed the house for $29 million in 2012 but struggled to find a buyer. He dropped the asking price to $14.855 million in 2015 but no one was willing to fork out that much for it either.

The property in itself is quite impressive. Jordan purchased the 7-acre land in 1991 and after building the mansion, moved into it in 1994 along with his first wife Juanita and their three kids, Jeffrey, Marcus, and Jasmine.

The 56,000-square-foot property contains nine bedrooms, 19 bathrooms (15 full), an indoor basketball court, an office space, a library, a cigar room, a wine cellar, a tennis court, a putting green, a swimming pool, a home theatre, and a 14-car garage.

If you're wondering why no one jumped at the opportunity to buy this impressive mansion, well a few reasons have been thrown around. For starters, it is heavily customized. 

As you approach the property, you're greeted by an iron gate with Jordan's No. 23 on it. Step through the gate and you'll see the outdoor putting green sporting flags featuring his Nike silhouette. The home theater, meanwhile, displays the Chicago Bulls icon's likeness. 

If you might have thought that was already way too much "Jordan" for your liking, well there's more on the inside. The mansion's basketball court has Jordan's and his three eldest children's names painted across it too. Simply put, this was made for the Hall of Famer.

While all this might have put many off, Cooper, who has lived in Chicago for over 10 years, wasn't. He revealed he has some plans in place for the property but won't be making major changes.

"I'll announce some exciting plans for the property in January," Cooper said. "I do not have any major renovation plans. I will honor the property's legacy. This place is great just the way it is."

Cooper also stated that the possibility of purchasing the estate emerged only within the past six months. He is a partner at a real estate company named HAN Capital and has served as head of operations there for over 12 years.

Cooper doesn't intend to make this property his full-time residence but plans to be there often. It is quite interesting that the 42-year-old is keeping this as a secondary residence of sorts.

Another reason no one was jumping at the opportunity to buy Jordan's house was taxes. According to Zillow, he had to pay $148,018 as property tax in 2022 and reportedly wasn't too keen on continuing to pay this much for a mansion he wasn't staying in. Well, it's off Jordan's hands now and he's probably breathing a sigh of relief.