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At dinner one night at Kochs Cape Cod compound, the dinner table teemed with family and friends. Koch, 72, who made his fortune partly by developing underground coal deposits in Somerset, Colorado, is building the out-of-the-way oasis at his nearby Bear Ranch, a working cattle operation southwest of Aspen. It's also one of Wichita's largest employers . Kochs project manager has told county officials that the enclave in the middle of the 6,400-acre Bear Ranch wont ever be open to the public. Space planning is key, and less really is often more. It's an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a playhouse. This town is billionaire Bill Koch's fascination with the Old West rendered in bricks and mortar. Billionaire Bill Koch Builds His Own Wild West Town on His - AOL Hiyo, David and Charles Koch! 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. To remedy the situation, and to offer their children the best possible education, his parents sent David and Bill away to different boarding schools; Bill went to Indianas Culver Military Academy. 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. Gunnison Energy Corporation, an Oxbow company, leases nearly 150,000 acres of mineral rights from the BLM and private mineral owners. It's an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a. In fact, he has crammed part of a museum with his collections this year. It sits on a 420-acre meadow on his Bear Ranch below the Raggeds Wilderness Area in Gunnison County. Energy company founder Bill Koch went back in time, the billionaire built an entire town in the Old West. The Denver Post reports the town, located in Kebler Pass, has a saloon, church, jail and train station among [.] A locked gate with guards screens who comes and goes. 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To find interior design nirvana, experts always follow these eight underlying principles. Wealthy Koch Brother Builds Old West Town : NPR - NPR.org Eastern Mass Bill Koch League Inc (EIN# 842330277) is an tax exempt organization filed with Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Dateline: 7-11 Ranch Murder Near Billionaire Bill Koch's Old West Town Kansas-based Koch Industries restructures top management A locked gate with guards screens who comes and goes. Ramon Reed, chairman of the planning commission, told the Post: 'It's the kind of stuff I guess you would expect a billionaire to construct. Hed been shot. 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In the meantime, weve gone ahead and made this visitors badge, which we think is of high-enough quality to fool even the eagle eyes at Kochtown, USA. Oxbows great success was figuring out that petroleum coke, a byproduct of producing gasoline, could actually be used, instead of discarded. Zhan says there were no armed guards, and that both men were offered a cell phone to use once they left the ranch, where cellular reception is limited. Nope he will just build himself a whole empty town, unpolluted by our ilk -- unless he brings in one or two of us for a humdinger of a round of The Most Dangerous Game. Although his primary residence is in Palm Beach, Florida, where Oxbow is headquartered, one of Kochs many passions is Western history. I want to have a place for my family and extended family to keep us all together, he says. Koch describes his father, the son of a Dutch immigrant newspaper owner, as a very strong, ethical man and as a soft-spoken, John Waynetype. But his father was away from home often, building his oil refinery business. Bill Koch's Wild West village tells us all we need to know about taxing He runs the school like a business: The headmaster is the president and CEO, and the kids and the parents are the customers. 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. This town is billionaire Bill Kochs fascination with the Old West rendered in bricks and mortar. A flat-brimmed cowboy hat hid his blue eyes and thick, tousled white hair. Text Billionaire brothers Charles Koch and the late David Koch became known for their financial support of conservative and arts causes. It's like something out of a 'Gunsmoke' movie set. His twin, David, 19 minutes older, was handsome, sociable, and athletic and gravitated toward their brother Charles, who is five years older than the twins. By now everyone knows about the Koch brothers' efforts to spend a fair chunk of their millions on defeating President Obama and reshaping American politics in the image of their oil extraction-friendly version of libertarianism. (Mastrullos stepson works in Kochs Elk Creek Mine.) On a warm day this past September, Bill Koch rode on horseback through Bear Ranch, his 4,500-acre property located just outside of Paonia. Its a big supplier of sulfur, sulfuric acid, and fertilizers. They played basketball togetherthough Bill sat on the bench while David was a prolific scorer. 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. They were to hold strategy meetings, and each executive was to undergo a 360-degree performance analysis. Fried, whos worked for Oxbow for about 14 years, is mystified by Martensens alleged offenses. The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. I dont understand why there is so much antagonism and anger toward me from people in Paonia who have never met me, especially since weve been trying to make a lot of contributions to the community, Koch says. Koch says he separated the six men to avoid any collusion between them. A new school in Ho Chi Minh City looks like a building-sized playhouse, complete with bright paint and whimsical, asymmetrical windows. Bill Koch (businessman) - Wikipedia ', Collector: Koch, pictured in a 2012 photo, admits he's a big fan of the Western era. Koch has also all but legally adopted Rooney Kochs son, whom she had with actor Kevin Costner. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. 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. Its the second project of its kind in the United States. Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, Alex Murdaugh now faces life in jail after showing no emotion as he was found GUILTY of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul - jurors spent less than three hours deliberating, The King's revenge? Kochs parents were largely absent. Billionaire Bill Koch's new Colorado town is a private Old West marvel This view of Bill Koch's re-created Old West town is from a public road running across Bureau of Land. The site owner may have set restrictions that prevent you from accessing the site. Forbes estimates Kochs net worth at close to $4 billion. FINANCE. He loosens his cinch, gives the saddle a tug, and carries it into the barn, where he hangs it on the rack. (Ol' Romney's a pretty good ROI, huh boys?) The first night, Koch hosted the men for dinner at the ranch. Last year, Koch paid a whopping $2.3million for a small photograph of legendary Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid. It is simply for Kochs amusement and for that of his family and friends and historians. At 72 years old, Koch is the founder, CEO, and president of Oxbow Carbon LLC, a global energy company, and one of the wealthiest men in the world, with a reported personal net worth of about $4 billion. But dont expect to move here or even to visit. But is the town simply the project of an eccentric billionaire, or is there more to the story? In fact, he has crammed part of a museum with his collections this year. The high mesas in the distance silhouetted Kochs frame as the late-afternoon sun began to cast long shadows. Instagram, Follow us on But dont expect to move here or even to visit. After purchasing the photo last year, Koch told the Denver Post: 'I love the Old West. What I really want to do is create family compounds, so my sons will see each other and theyll have a reason, when they get older and they have their own families, for staying together. Hes sensitive to any hint of sibling rivalry or infighting among his children and is quick to punish them if he senses anytaking away iPhones, Facebook privileges, or grounding the teenagers. But 133 years later, it endures as the most recognisable photo of the American West. Kids come first, he says. Hes also the brother of Charles and David Koch, the high-profile businessmen and bankrollers of conservative causes. The land Koch is seeking provides the best existing access to 40 square miles of Forest Service and Wilderness land, he told me. The youngest child was born to Koch and his current wife, Bridget Rooney Koch, granddaughter of Art Rooney, who founded the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1933. Anyhoo, dude's got a lot of money, and sharing is for queers and French people, and which one are you? In 2012, he donated more than half a million dollars to charities in the region. It all gets back to trying to create a place where I can enjoy life and enjoy my family and friends without having to worry about my enemies. Donate today tohelp keep Grists site and newsletters free. Its the kind of stuff I guess you would expect a billionaire to construct. 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. Billionaires need to either plot schemes for world domination or else build replica towns at vast expense. ENTERTAINMENT. The controversial swap would give the government properties near Blue Mesa and in Dinosaur National Park in exchange for a public swath that cuts through his ranch. They were in the same fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, where Bill was the resident humorist, and both studied chemical engineering. One theory floating around Paonia posits the various BLM parcels included in the exchange, beyond the one that would unite Kochs ranch, are strategic locations that provide resources for drilling and hydraulic fracturing infrastructure. Auden Schendler, the vice president of sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company, says his partner, Tom Vessels of Vessels Coal Gas, had been trying to execute the project for a decade. And if there are no parents there to help put everything into perspective, it can get very bad. His mother would side with his brothers. Bill Koch is the brother of David and Charles Koch, two other billionaires who have made headlines in recent years for shoveling money to conservative causes, including the Tea Party movement. Some fear their email has been hacked by Koch operatives, and rumors abound that former FBI agents pose as workers on his ranch in order to gather intel on what the employees are saying amongst themselves. You do not have access to www.architectmagazine.com. Koch will have a lot of room to keep his collections in Colorado. Martensen made no calls, according to Zhan. Its Kochs fantasy come to life, made possible by his staggering wealth. The Denver Post reports the town, located in Kebler Pass, has a saloon, church, jail and. LIFE. The Koch Brother's 'Western Town' in Photos Photos - ABC News So theres a pretty good chance that when those hallowed historians show up to tour Billy Kochs Kountry Kavalcade, theyll be presented with photos of Cowboy Curtis signed, Annie Oakleys.. Remember that often adversity is a blessing in disguise and certainly the greatest character builder. The town is being built on Kochs 420-acre ranch located in the Raggeds Wilderness in Gunnison County, Colorado. But in a deposition filed in Florida last month, another Oxbow executive, Charlie Zhan, who was present during the episode at the ranch and was subsequently fired, said neither he nor Martensen were ever physically threatened, restrained, intimidated, or made to feel as if they couldnt leave. Ray ID: 7a2d3ef63e34ca3b You guys are weird, but there is a method to your madness: you want to buy Wisconsin, and the presidency, and so you do. 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. What I really like about the West, he says, is the stand-your-ground mentality and the idea that you have to take care of yourself, take care of your family, and take care of the people that surround you.