*Evangelist and former businessman David Turner has been identified as the buyer of Tyler Perry’s opulent mini Versailles-inspired mansion, Buckhead.com, a local website covering the upscale Atlanta, Georgia suburb, broke the news. The website confirmed the news with Turner himself, who said God told him to buy the estate.
‘God literally told me to come here,’ Turner said. ‘I went online and I saw this house, and that’s when I felt like God told me, “This is your house.”‘
Turner and Perry finalized the sale face to face, settling on $17.5million — $7.5million less than the original asking price. Despite the discount, the sale remains the most expensive in state history. According to Sotheby’s, the previous highest sale in Atlanta’s history was a Buckhead estate that sold for $10.5 million in 2009.
READ RELATED STORY: Tyler Perry Upgrades Like a Boss; Takes a Hit with Buckhead Mansion Sale (Report)
Turner, his wife and two kids have already moved into the $34,668-square-foot home, which will serve as their main residence. The home has a resort-style infinity swimming pool, a lighted tennis court, a fully equipped gym, a spa, a theater, a hobby house, gardens, a caretakers suite and an underground ballroom. It also includes its own generator, guard-house, presidential-level security, access to the Chattahoochee River and two gated residential entrances.
Perry listed the home last year for $25 million, which at the time was the most expensive home to go on the market in Atlanta.
Turner launched his first business by age 19, and earned millions producing nuts and dried fruit. He eventually sold his two, multi-million dollar companies SunTree Snack Foods and Southwest Commodities to focus on his Christian ministry, David Turner International Ministries.
In related news, Tyler Perry spoke out to condemn the alleged Dallas sniper who left at least five police officers dead and seven wounded last week, following the police-killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
“Killing bc we’re black is wrong, killing bc they’re in blue is wrong! Hard to watch, hard to hear, hard to understand, but not hard to pray,” Perry tweeted.
