Want to buy Richard Garriott's mansion?

[CeeKay]

only $4.1 million will get you this interesting house.  IIRC there are also secret passages, and probably a hidden room with unsold copies of Tabula Rasa.

Britannia Manor II, the captivating & magical estate of Richard Garriott, aka, Lord British, is seeking new stewardship. Situated high on a level 3.99ac hilltop overlooking downtown & a 3,000ac preserve, this home offers amazing architectural details & intrigue plus an "off the grid" energy realm. Features behind the iron gate include a 360 degree observatory w/ telescope atop the approx 4790 sq ft home, pool, grotto, waterfall, +detached studio, separate guest quarters, a/c'd barn, lagoon,lighted track.

[Sarkus]

Does that mean his new house is finally completed, or has he just reached the point where his fortune has dwindled to the point where he can't really justiify this place?

Edit: the relatively recent image on Google Earth suggests the new property has not been finished.  So this looks like Garriott downgrading his lifestyle, I guess.

[th'FOOL]

Guess no Halloween party this year...

[Blackjack]

only $4.1 million will get you this interesting house.  IIRC there are also secret passages, and probably a hidden room with unsold copies of Tabula Rasa.

Britannia Manor II, the captivating & magical estate of Richard Garriott, aka, Lord British, is seeking new stewardship. Situated high on a level 3.99ac hilltop overlooking downtown & a 3,000ac preserve, this home offers amazing architectural details & intrigue plus an "off the grid" energy realm. Features behind the iron gate include a 360 degree observatory w/ telescope atop the approx 4790 sq ft home, pool, grotto, waterfall, +detached studio, separate guest quarters, a/c'd barn, lagoon,lighted track.

So what? I finally got my condo painted and all my drywall problems fixed in the last year. I think that's more important than Richard's Shangri-La!  

I still don't understand where the guy's wealth comes from (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Garriott#Video_games). Ultima Online and Lineage royalties? Suing NCSoft over his firing? My affection for TR aside, he hasn't done anything financially successful in ages. I guess he was somehow credited on City of Heroes/Villains though I don't recall him much being involved with those (if at all).

I do enjoy the idea of him huddling in a hidden, Austin Powers-type spy room filled with stacks of Tabula Rasa, growing a long beard, muttering "Some day, everyone will be like Blackjack and appreciate the unappreciated GENIUS of Tabula Rasa! And then it will LIVE AGAIN!" 

[Harkonis]

I think he was quite wealthy before Ultima Online, thanks to the other games he made, you know, Ultima 

[Sarkus]

Yeah, he made a lot of money when Origin was sold to EA.  I'm not sure how lucrative the NC Soft years were, though supposedly he was awarded $28m in a lawsuit decision last year.  Of course that was probably appealed by NC Soft and he hasn't seen the money.

At any rate, its pretty well known that he spent a lot of his fortune on his various space interests, including the $30m he paid to go into space in 2007.  And that was after its believed he lost a lot of money in bad dot.com investments around 2000-2001.

Of course this is all relative.  He may still have several millions of dollars left but feels this particular property isn't part of his future anymore.  I doubt he's going to living in a one bedroom studio anytime soon.