Video tour of Michael Jordan's former home sparks backlash: 'Worst celebrity mansion ever?'

While many celebrity mansions are beautiful and well-designed, they're often criticized for their sheer size, excessive use of materials, and environmental impact. 

When real estate agent and YouTube star Arvin Haddad (@ArvinHaddadOfficial) critiqued Michael Jordan's former 56,000-square-foot Chicago estate, he highlighted many design flaws that could have explained why the home was on the market for 12 years. The original price tag of $29 million came all the way down to $9.5 million when the house finally sold in 2024, according to Realtor.com. 

"Did MJ build the worst celebrity mansion ever?" a Reddit user asked in a post in the r/McMansionHell community. They shared Haddad's YouTube video, which featured real estate enthusiast Enes Yilmazer's video tour of the mansion.

Throughout the video, Yilmazer shows various rooms and features of the property, which includes seven acres, nine bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, a basketball court with an Air Jordan logo, an infinity pool, a tennis court, a putting green, a theater, and the iconic front gate emblazoned with 23 — Jordan's jersey number for most of his career. 

It's impressive, to say the least, but Haddad repeatedly pointed out the dated art deco style, dark wallpaper and flooring, and "office/medical waiting room vibes." 

"It is awful," one person commented. 

While the design might be questionable, it's clear the home was built with high-end materials and expert craftsmanship. That adds to the value but also increases the strain on resources, land, and heating and cooling requirements — especially given the square footage and high ceilings throughout the first floor. 

Of course, this is true of many celebrity homes. But the modern trend of large McMansion-style homes with questionable features that require massive amounts of materials to be produced is concerning from an environmental standpoint. 

Whether it's celebrity homes or "normal" houses, there might be something to be said for bringing back the cozy 1970s style, just without the art deco. 

"It looks like Jordan designed it to match the interiors of the stadium lobbies he visited — very cold, very commercial, and not conducive to relaxing family living," one person shared on YouTube. 

"The living room in the guest house is exactly the same as the one in my dentist's lobby. The whole house looks more office-based than basketball-based," another shared. 

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