The town, which has yet to be named, is an authentic reproduction of a full-scale 19th-century settlement; its largely comprised of structures from a former MGM tourist attraction called Buckskin Joe, which Koch bought in 2010 and transported piece by piece to his ranch from its location outside of Caon City. It is no secret that energy magnate and collector Bill Koch is a fan of the old West, but the construction of this small town may be taking the obsession to a new level. But is the town simply the project of an eccentric billionaire, or is there more to the story? This town is billionaire Bill Koch's fascination with the Old West rendered in bricks and mortar. Its the kind of stuff I guess you would expect a billionaire to construct. The Koch Brother's 'Western Town' in Photos Photos - ABC News 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Elk Creek was the only mine willing to try it. After all, the West has always loved its villains. So its been staggering to me to know that senior people in the company would steal from him, he told me at Oxbows corporate headquarters in Palm Beach. Staff comes last. The schools five-person board of directors contains three Oxbow executives, including Koch. Hed been quiet this afternoon; Koch had stayed up late into the night, drinking whiskey in the saloon with his brother-in-law and a few friends. Relic: To build the town, Koch purchased Buckskin Joe, a former Colorado tourist attraction, uprooted it, and carted to his ranch, Closed for business: While Buckskin Joe was a popular tourist attraction, Koch will not open it to the public. When I got away, it was about what I did. Koch intends for the town to be a private getaway for his family and friends. As we reached the last leg of our ride through his ranch, Koch pushed ahead alone. The federal government and private entitiesski resorts, developments, individualsexecute land exchanges all the time (typically more than 300 a year) to consolidate properties, and some observers have been surprised at the uproar Kochs swap ignited. His billionaire brothers, David and Charles Koch, are best known for making for big contributions to conservative causes. The last time we heard from super-smart-collector Bill Koch, it was about how he got ripped off buying fake wine. He couldnt buy me a doctorate degree from MIT. Billionaire Bill Koch loves the Old West so much that he decided to build his own private town somewhere within the wilds of Colorado. It's also one of Wichita's largest employers . As part of our commitment to sustainability, in 2021 Grist moved its office headquarters to the Bullitt Center in Seattles vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. You all take care of each other., Koch was at the ranch that weekend to work out some details related to the Old West town hes building on his land. A new school in Ho Chi Minh City looks like a building-sized playhouse, complete with bright paint and whimsical, asymmetrical windows. It is simply for Koch's amusement and for that of his family and friends and historians. Oxbow, which has annual revenues of $4 billion and employs 1,500 people worldwide, also owns one of the most productive underground coal mines in the United States: Elk Creek Mine, located about 10 minutes from Kochs ranch. William "Bill" Koch, brother of Koch Industries CEO Charles Koch, is the founder of petroleum coke and sulphur products company Oxbow Corp. Another contention is that Koch purchased Buck Creek Ranch so the land could be used for a compressor station, a condenser station, or a pipeline. My father couldnt buy me honors at Culver. Solving climate change is going to be really hard, Schendler says. Martensen unsuccessfully appealed the March 2012 suit filed by Koch in Florida. They were to hold strategy meetings, and each executive was to undergo a 360-degree performance analysis. But Bill Koch is not staying out of the political fray either, donating a total of $2million this year to pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future. And I am now very best friends with my brother David. Koch initiated the reconciliation with his twin by inviting him to his birthday party in 2001, and David served as the best man in Kochs 2005 wedding to his third wife, Bridget Rooney Koch. Known as one of the greenest commercial buildings in the world, since it opened its doors on Earth Day in 2013 the Bullitt Center has been setting a new standard for sustainable design. Its an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a playhouse. You guys are weird, but there is a method to your madness: you want to buy Wisconsin, and the presidency, and so you do. When his father was around, he would stick up for young Bill, something that affected him deeply. It may be a blessing or a curse. Text Billionaire brothers Charles Koch and the late David Koch became known for their financial support of conservative and arts causes. Koch's town boasts its own water-treatment system and approximately 50 buildings including a. Facebook, Follow us on All things Colorado delivered straight to your inbox. Kelley McMillan writes frequently for the New York Times and Outside magazine. Groovy kindergarten brightens up with colorful facade. No matter what Koch does, he seems to kick up dust in his wake. A psychologist recommended the brothers be separated. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. That residence is along a county road, so it doesnt have the privacy of Bear Ranch. She is very tired with this fucking nonsense all of the time, and it would be terrific if you sent money to keep this bitch afloat. To hear him tell it, the brothel is haunted by the phantoms of unsatisfied customers. It is simply for Kochs amusement and for that of his family and friends and historians. Martensen made no calls, according to Zhan. Its an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a playhouse. Ghosts, Koch said with a boyish chuckle. It has about 50 buildings, including a saloon, a church, a jail, a firehouse, a livery and a train station. Have fun, and send us lots of pictures. Koch says he separated the six men to avoid any collusion between them. Wild Bill Koch Builds a Private Town Out West The Koch Brothers Are Sitting on a Real Estate Empire Worth - WSJ In 1958, he graduated with honors. The high mesas in the distance silhouetted Kochs frame as the late-afternoon sun began to cast long shadows. . I want to live the rest of my life and enjoy that, and be a good father to my kids and hopefully leave my kids with very good values and very good ethics. Hes also reflecting on his past, warts and all, as he says, contemplating the things that influenced his lifes course. Ever the shrewd politician, Hickenlooper is working quietly to broker a peace deal between the two on the land exchange. Published: 18:49 EST, 21 August 2012 | Updated: 03:24 EST, 22 August 2012. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. His boat was the winner of the America's Cup in 1992. Over the years the property value of the family ranch in Gunnison County increased (reportedly to $3 million). And Kochs offered to build a mountain bike trail connecting Crested Butte to Carbondale. Denver, CO 80202. I should regret very much to have you miss the glorious feeling of accomplishment and I know you are not going to let me down. When I was living in Wichita, a lot of people looked upon me as a rich kid, Koch says. Youre not alone. Its like something out of a Gunsmoke movie set, said Ramon Reed, chairman of the Gunnison County Planning Commission. Here are some of the craziest things rich people do with their money: Part of HuffPost Business. This town is billionaire Bill Kochs fascination with the Old West rendered in bricks and mortar. Over the years, Oxbow has expanded its core businesses to include the mining and marketing of energy and commodities such as coal and natural gas, along with metallurgical and calcined coke, a key ingredient in the manufacturing of aluminum. Koch's collection of more than 500 objects at the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach included this photo of a Wyoming Cowboy by J.C. Grabill, 1887. . It's an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a playhouse. There will be family dinners, parties, and corporate retreats. Kochs designer and project manager agreed to tone down lighting so it wont be shining into the Raggeds Wilderness. He bailed hay, dug ditches, fixed fences, and mucked stalls12 hours a day, seven days a weekand got paid five bucks per diem, plus room and board. He says his relocation to Asia was a part of a plan being implemented to evade paying taxes to the United States on profits in excess of $200,000,000 per year.. Bill Koch's 'Western Town' Picture | The Koch Brother's 'Western Town Last year, Koch paid a whopping $2.3million for a small photograph of legendary Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid. But its difficult not to sense that, no matter how much he once wanted to win against his brothers, he is grateful to have his family back, thankful for the peace. Another chimed in, A peasant like you isnt going to give him your few pennies and get in there. Marston added, People like us are never considered to be fully human by him., Ullrey, whos never met or worked for Koch, and does not have any family thats ever been employed by him, says, There is a lot of emotion involved in this, and the emotion is irrelevant. The commission recently OKd a 22,000-square-foot residence for Koch above the town that already has two buildings in excess of 11,000 square feet. Bill disagreed with Charles totalitarian control of the company and believed the stockholders were not getting their rewards. But dont expect to move here or even to visit. Koch, who was not available for comment, also owns four properties in upper Castle Creek Valley near Aspen, including the 17,000-square-foot Elk Mountain Lodge that he turned into a personal residence when he bought it and the other three properties for $51 million in 2007. This town is billionaire Bill Kochs fascination with the Old West rendered in bricks and mortar. He bought out the Buckskin Joe Western town near Caon City for $3.1 million in 2010. Although this swath of BLM open space is dotted with aspens and offers views of three 12,000-foot peaks, BLM land traditionally is at the bottom of the public-land food chain. Regardless of the land swaps status, Kochs immediate family will come to western Colorado to see the town this spring. Its an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a playhouse. A locked gate with guards screens who comes and goes. Twitter, Follow us on And the town represents that.. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Forbes estimates his net worth at close to $4billion. When he arrived, Koch was six feet one inch tall and weighed 120 pounds, and his peers teased him unmercifully for his gawky appearance. Bill Koch's Wild West village tells us all we need to know about taxing Koch also bought a 21-acre lot on Jumbo Mountain, a popular recreation area outside of Paonia, which he plans to convey to the BLM to provide permanent public access to Jumbo; currently, a landowner allows people to cross his property to get to the mountain. His Western art and artifacts were on display at the Society of the Four Arts at the Palm Beach Museum in Palm Beach, Fla. Palm Beach is where Oxbow is based. Ive had my fair share of the spotlight, he says. 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Koch is president of the Oxbow Group, based in Palm Beach, Florida, which operates the Elk Creek coal mine in western Colorado. I dont want much to be in it anymore. It appears to have all the fixings of any young boys amusement park, but the Denver Post reports that the town is for Koch alone, and will not be open to the public. Through his various companieshe owns the Elk Creek coal mine in Somerset, about 15 minutes from his ranch; Gunnison Energy, a major player in natural gas development in the area; and Bear RanchKoch pays more than $38 million a year in employee salaries. My husband and I are of the opinion that the American people will win. At dinner one night at Kochs Cape Cod compound, the dinner table teemed with family and friends. This is America. Martensen said no. It is the ultimate repository for his huge collection of Western memorabilia. An Old West town re-created by billionaire William "Bill" Koch is seen near Paonia State Park in Colo., Aug. 22, 2012. 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It's an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a playhouse. Kochs six-foot-four-inch frameclad in a collared shirt, chaps, boots, and spurssat comfortably atop his palomino mount as we toured his estate, which lies just below the Ragged Mountains, a fluted wall of granite that rises from the high mesas of western Colorado. When you are 21, you will receive what now seems like a large sum of money. Why so many apartment dwellers hear the sound of rolling objects through the ceiling. But, more important, Marston believes the deal will rob Paonia of access to the Raggeds. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to go to the desired page. It sits on a 420-acre meadow on his Bear Ranch below the Raggeds Wilderness Area in Gunnison County. LIFE. Edwin Edwards who died at 93 is set to marry his best friend - a 79-year-old former state Senate president: Exhumed last husband's remains against his kids' wishes, Tennessee Gov. Since the swap was proposed, Koch has added what he and his team consider to be several improvements to the original exchange bill. After Jakes friends pressured the police to open an investigation, two years later in 2017, Jakes body was found on the ranch, wrapped in a tarp buried in a manure pile. Koch, known as "Wild Bill" to some of his friends, is the founder and president of the energy company Oxbow Group, which operates the Elk Creek Mine near Somerset. That residence is along a county road, so it doesnt have the privacy of Bear Ranch. Billionaire Bill Koch's new Colorado town is a private Old West marvel A large-scale, private recreation of an old West town: There's a new town in Colorado. Kochs not yet sure what hell do, though hes not totally opposed to the governors terms. It is simply for Kochs amusement and for that of his family and friends and historians. But don't expect to move here or even to visit. Paonia resident Ed Marston, the former publisher of High Country News, is one of the swaps most vocal opponents. Fried asked if Martensen had ever heard of the company. Priceless: Last year, Koch paid a whopping $2.3million for a small photograph of legendary Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid. Bill Koch (businessman) - Wikipedia YouTube, Follow us on When the group reached a point that overlooks Kochs ranch, they stopped to take in the view, and a chorus of anti-Koch rants began: Its by invitation only, one hiker said. Koch is trying to sew up more privacy at Bear Ranch through a land swap that brought his name into the public eye in Delta and Gunnison counties. Reader support helps sustain our work. The rivalry between the twin brothers got so severe in middle school, Koch says, that he became withdrawn and nearly flunked out. Donate today tohelp keep Grists site and newsletters free. Bill Koch may have found the answer after building his own private Old West town in Colorado. Billionaire Koch building private Old West town | AspenTimes.com Koch says he invited Martensenand five other executives thought to be involved in the schemeto the ranch for a corporate retreat in mid-March. It will be yours to do what you will. Theyre playing a legal maneuvering game because they want the case to be held in San Francisco, which would be considerably more liberal than the court in Florida, Koch says. It's an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a playhouse. Altogether, Koch has spent, or committed, roughly $7 million to the exchange. Thats absolutely false, says Brad Goldstein, Oxbows spokesperson. Its full-size buildings come with polished brass and carved-mahogany details and are fronted with board sidewalks and Bill Koch talks to members of the media inside the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Fla., earlier this year about his vast collection of American Western frontier memorabilia, which he is moving to Colorado. He also revealed that his wife told him he should go on the television show Hoarders. Its a show about people obsessed with amassing things. Each brother now has a framed copy of the letter, which Koch has read often over the years. But Bill Koch has mostly made waves for collecting rare wine, winning the Americas Cup sailing race and, most recently, buying up every bit of valuable Western memorabilia that comes up for sale. Sign up today! We bought Buck Creek for access. 1675 Larimer St. Ornate red and blue glass lamps cast kaleidoscopic shadows on the wall. Its full-size buildings come with polished brass and carved-mahogany details and are fronted with board sidewalks and underpinned by a water-treatment system. He leaves his spurs on. The land Koch is seeking provides the best existing access to 40 square miles of Forest Service and Wilderness land, he told me. She is a nice lady, SHUT UP YUH HUH. He paid $2.3 million for a photograph of Billy the Kid at an auction last year. In February, the brothers famously announced that they were putting up $100million to boot President Obama out of the White House. He also disapproved of using company money to fund Charles and Davids libertarian causes: In 1977, the Kochs donated money to launch the Libertarian Cato Institute, and David Koch ran for vice president on the 1980 Libertarian Party ticket. (Ol' Romney's a pretty good ROI, huh boys?) It is the ultimate repository for his huge collection of Western memorabilia. Fried, whos worked for Oxbow for about 14 years, is mystified by Martensens alleged offenses. Facebook, Follow us on Kochs collection spans the 19th and early 20th centuries, and parts of it will be displayed at the Smithsonian next year. Proposed in 2010 by then Congressman John Salazar, a Democrat who lost his bid for re-election that same year, the Central Rockies Land Exchange, as the swap is called, aims to connect the two disparate sides of Bear Ranch into one contiguous piece of property via a Bureau of Land Management parcel. Not far from the 7-11 Ranch, billionaire Bill Koch (brother of Charles and the late David Koch AKA The Koch Brothers who are known for funding conservative causes) built a private. Suite 675 The pastors smiled as they held the doors open, grabbing the hands of those who walked by and urging many to keep praying and to keep showing up. A 21,000-square-foot mansion filled with Jesse James memorabilia sits near the 50-building town which includes a saloon, church, brothel, jail and train station. Everything from the ceilings to the accoutrements are period-specific. The streets widths are historically accuratewide enough so that a four-to-six-horse cart can turn aroundand are bordered by sidewalks at the perfect height for a rancher to load his cart. Fried says he started the conversation by talking about Martensens divisions performance and about Martensens contributions to the company, which Martensen thought were prolific. The conversation turned when Fried brought up some of the examples of Martensens alleged corporate wrongdoings. Hes been on the board of four different schools and says, You can spend more time debating the problem than solving it. Being on the board of the school is, Koch says, the equivalent of holding the stock in Oxbridge., In addition to the school and Bear Ranch, Koch has a 42-acre Cape Cod estate, comprised of the former Dupont and Mellon family properties; a 90-acre estate in Aspen made up of four neighboring properties; and his primary residence, a 35,000-square-foot house in Palm Beach, Florida. Eventually, authentic ephemerabeaded garters with holsters for mini pistols, matchbook advertisements for call girls, and pictures of 19th-century prostituteswill adorn the rooms. Of course, Bill Koch is not any other cowboy, and his land is not any other estate: Bear Ranch is at the center of a bitter dispute that has divided Paonias eclectic community of ranchers, miners, New Agers, and farmers for two years. Elk Mountain was formerly a high-end hunting lodge. But dont expect to move here or even to visit. The battle may have been over, but the war was just beginning: Bill, David, and Charles were embroiled in litigation for the next 19 years. After the festivities died down, Koch retreated to his quarters, where he sat in a rocking chair on the deck, flossing his teeth and looking at the stars, his town spread out beneath him. Abortion clinics crossing state borders not always welcome Grist is powered by WordPress VIP. by 2Paragraphs in Culture, True Crime Murder TV | September 21, 2020, 711 Ranch on Dateline's Trouble at the 7-11 (NBC). It sits on a 420-acre meadow on his Bear Ranch below the Raggeds Wilderness Area in Gunnison County. Below Deck Meds Bugsy Flaunts Best Mermaid Impression In Hot Pink Bikini, BELOW DECK MEDITERRANEAN's Christine Bugsy Drake (Karolina Wojtasik/Bravo), 2012-2023, 2paragraphs Productions, LLC. She died in jail in November 2019. Experts estimate it was taken around 1879. (Mastrullos stepson works in Kochs Elk Creek Mine.) He loosens his cinch, gives the saddle a tug, and carries it into the barn, where he hangs it on the rack. Bill Koch's Wild West Adventure The controversial businessman is building an Old West town near Paonia that's a full-scale reproduction of a 19th-century settlement. If a guy wants to make billions of dollars digging up oil and selling it to people and lobbying so that we use more oil and gas and spend millions to shift political opinion and go out of his way to preserve a long-standing, highly detrimental way of life solely so that he can live a lifestyle that is so far beyond what a moral person would find acceptable that it basically makes the Curiosity rovers trip to Mars look like you headed to your bathroom, thats his right. CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. - Energy billionaire Bill Koch is known for spending lavishly to buy Western artifacts, and now he's building his own old West town in Colorado.The Denver Serving Aspen and Snowmass Village, CO I visited with Koch, who rarely grants interviews, on multiple occasions, across several states, at four of his homes, and I was the first (and only, to this date) journalist to visit his Old West town. Your IP: 172.105.83.36, Requested URL: www.architectmagazine.com/design/wild-bill-koch-builds-a-private-town-out-west_o, User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/103.0.0.0 Safari/537.36. Koch also agreed to downsize a bit. Shes got a great character and she could love me besides loving herself., In 2011, Koch founded Oxbridge Academy, pledging $60 million because, he says, he wasnt satisfied with the education options in Palm Beach, and he didnt want to send his children off to boarding school. In all of my interactions with Koch over the course of five months, it was not business, or the Old West town, that he spoke about most often. Shes also smart and very funny. Eastern Mass Bill Koch League Inc 85 S Great Rd, Lincoln, MA 01773-4701 ', Collector: Koch, pictured in a 2012 photo, admits he's a big fan of the Western era. Coal and oil billionaire William Koch, brother of Tea Party backers Charles and David Koch, is bringing his vast Western art collection to the Smithsonian American Art Museum from March 28 to. The Koch Brother's 'Western Town' in Photos - ABC News