After 17 Years on Market, Mega-Mansion Sells

Celebs plunk down millions on mansions every day, but Tyler Perry's new acquisition is somewhat more storied. The scribe bought Atlanta's Dean Gardens, which cost $25 million to build, features 58 acres, a golf course, wedding chapel, and what the New York Times calls an almost universally mocked "collision of self-indulgence, bad taste and a waste of money." Which might explain why it took 17 years to sell. Perry, who paid $7.6 million, plans to rip the whole thing down anyway.

Dean Gardens was the child of software entrepreneur Larry Dean and his first wife, who spent four years and the aforementioned $25 million building it before moving in with their four kids in 1992. Less than a year later, the Deans split and the house went on the market—where it has sat, like a garish elephant in the corner, until now (though Michael Jackson reportedly almost bought it for Lisa Marie Presley when the asking price was $40 million). “The luxury-home market has been hit very hard, and this was a very special property," says one tactful local Realtor. (More Tyler Perry stories.)