Her husband Dave Jackson received a 10-year sentence for his role in moving the body. He paid $2.3 million for a photograph of Billy the Kid at an auction last year. William "Bill" Koch, brother of Koch Industries CEO Charles Koch, is the founder of petroleum coke and sulphur products company Oxbow Corp. We turned toward the barn, and the horses were skittish, sensing that we were heading home. A robust picture emerges of what life was like in the West.. 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. Kids come first, he says. Koch's designer and project manager agreed to tone down lighting so it will not shine into the Raggeds Wilderness. Theres a 20-person team dedicated to overseeing, authenticating, and building the town and Kochs collection of Western memorabilia, which includes more than one million itemsincluding Frederic Remingtons painting The Trooper, General George A. Custers Springfield rifle, the only photograph of Billy the Kid (valued at $2.3 million), and an early Colorado hearse (a white horse-drawn carriage). Denver, CO 80202. FINANCE. Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957, [email protected] or twitter.com/nlofholm, Billionaire Bill Kochs new Colorado town is a, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Get to know all 17 Denver mayor candidates , Billionaire Bill Kochs new Colorado town is a private Old West marvel, Denver weather: Strong winds and low humidity will elevate fire concerns Sunday, Vehicle owners can register for car theft deterrent program DenverTrack, Colorado property owners to face astronomical tax increases next year, Data breach of DPS computer servers affects all district employees, officials say, After School Satan Club launching first Colorado chapter, but organizer promises "we are not devil worshippers", PHOTOS: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band play Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado landlords say eviction-protection proposal could make dropping problem renters too hard, 5 can't-miss menus for Denver Restaurant Week, No more greasy pizza boxes, paper towels or takeout containers in Front Range compost bins come April 1, After teen's death, Denver East High students walk out to advocate for gun legislation, Boulder house where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Metro Denver housing market crosses firmly into negative territory in February, Kiszla: With Brendan Rodgers down and out, Kris Bryant could become $182 million face of worst team in Rockies history, As Adderall shortage continues, DEA plans to limit some telemedicine prescriptions, House where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Columbia University permanently drops SAT, ACT admissions requirement, The Waterbed Doctor: California retailer lays claim to retro bed with nearly 40 years of service, sales, Felonious Florida podcast: Missing teenage girl leads to several cases of child sex trafficking, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. You guys are weird, but there is a method to your madness: you want to buy Wisconsin, and the presidency, and so you do. Around 50 buildings, along with a water-treatment system, have been permitted by Gunnison County in the past two years. Soon, it will have a mansion on a hill so the towns founder can look down on his creation. 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. 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. 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. In December, Governor John Hickenlooper visited Koch and the town. 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. SPORTS. Will there be real girls here? I asked. As people get richer and richer, it gets harder and harder to think of cost-effective ways of spending the marginal dollar on amusing yourself. It sits on a 420-acre meadow on his Bear Ranch below the Raggeds Wilderness Area in Gunnison County. I met his family, in-laws, and friends; Oxbow executives, his personal staff, and contract workers; and teachers and students at the school he founded, Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches, in Florida. It has about 50 buildings, including a saloon, a church, a jail, a firehouse, a livery and a train station. Hiyo, David and Charles Koch! 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. Koch's project manager has told county officials that the enclave in the middle of the 6,400-acre Bear Ranch won't ever be open to the public. 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. According to The Sideshow, the 72-year-old isn't designing the place for public consumption. 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. Reed said Gunnison County has no restrictions on the size of residences, but the Koch home came before the planning commission because of a regulation that a residence of that size must not be obtrusive.. Soon, it will have a mansion on a hill so the towns founder can look down on his creation. 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 replica of an Old West town on Bear Ranch, which is located in Paonia (also in Gunnison Co.). Koch, who was interviewing another executive in a different building, says he watched Martensen leave, weeping. Koch swings his leg over the top of his mount and hops off. LIFE. Bill Koch may have found the answer after building his own private Old West town in Colorado. It's like something out of a 'Gunsmoke' movie set. Forbes described it as a place where once anyone might stake a claim, but now you must be a billionaire.. In 2012, he donated more than half a million dollars to charities in the region. 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? Dawn Ullrey, an avid horseback rider who has lived in Paonia for 53 years, and whose husband works for the Forest Service, was on the tour, as was Frank Mastrullo, who videotaped the outing. When you take from the rich and give to the poor, you end up generating a lot of extra welfare as people who don't have very much can have their lives greatly improved at relatively low cost. This project shows how Americans can use a wasted resource for the betterment of our communities. He bought out the Buckskin Joe Western town near Caon City for $3.1 million in 2010. 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. You want to see the brothel? Koch asked. Facebook, Follow us on Billionaire Bill Koch loves the Old West so much that he decided to build his own private town somewhere within the wilds of Colorado. Reed said they took into account that a third of the Koch mansion will be underground and it will be blocked by a hillside. Martensens lawsuit says he asked to leave but was held captive at the ranch. All Rights Reserved, The Pacific Group. It is simply for Koch's amusement and for that of his family and friends and historians. It is simply for Kochs amusement and for that of his family and friends and historians. He bought out the Buckskin Joe Western town near Caon City for $3.1 million in 2010. 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.. Their father was keenly aware of moneys inherent paradox. After his review, Martensen was driven to another part of the ranch, Crystal Meadows, to wait for the five other men who were being interviewed, three of whom lived in California like Martensen. The home is expected to come in at closer to 21,000 square feet in the final plans when one wing is removed. Recently, the mansion a home that will be the largest in Gunnison County made it through the planning process. It took me a long time to realize I have some talents and capabilities and if I just put them to work, I could create my own life and my own accomplishments independent of where Ive come from, he says. 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. Dont get too excited, loser! Billionaires need to either plot schemes for world domination or else build replica towns at vast expense. It wasnt the first time Koch has laid down cold hard cash for some Wild West swag, and it was not the last. Eventually, authentic ephemerabeaded garters with holsters for mini pistols, matchbook advertisements for call girls, and pictures of 19th-century prostituteswill adorn the rooms. 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. Koch wants to trade the federal government 911 acres of land he owns in Gunnison County, along with 80 acres in Utahs Dinosaur National Monument, for 1,846 acres of less valuable public land in and around Paonia. Fred Koch also had a deep love of the West and at one time was one of the largest ranchers in the United States, owning more than two million acres of ranchlands in Texas, Kansas, Wyoming, and Montana. A Western town straight out of Bonanza has sprung up in Colorado, and while it is too late for Billy the Kid to move in, it is just right for Bill the Billionaire. 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. After all, the West has always loved its villains. Its Kochs fantasy come to life, made possible by his staggering wealth. But, more important, Marston believes the deal will rob Paonia of access to the Raggeds. Kochs not yet sure what hell do, though hes not totally opposed to the governors terms. This town is billionaire Bill Kochs fascination with the Old West rendered in bricks and mortar. An Old West town re-created by billionaire William "Bill" Koch is seen near Paonia State Park in Colo., Aug. 22, 2012. 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. It sits on a 420-acre meadow on his Bear Ranch below the Raggeds Wilderness Area in Gunnison County. It's an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a playhouse. . Riding with him, and seeing him against this Western backdrop, it was easy to forget his colorful romantic history (hes been married three times and had a public falling-out with a mistress in 1995); his reputation for being litigious (hes been involved in 26 personal lawsuits); and his accomplishments as a sailor (he won the Americas Cup in 1992). When his father was around, he would stick up for young Bill, something that affected him deeply. His Western art and artifacts were on display at the Society of the Four Arts at the Palm Beach Museum in Palm, In an interview this past spring with arts blog the Fine Art Notebook, Koch noted that he would be moving the collection to the Centennial State and told the interviewer, I shouldnt tell you this, but I am building my own Western town in Colorado.. Fried asked if Martensen had ever heard of the company. Martensen then was kidnapped and kept captive in the vehicle during the trip to Denver. Martensen, his attorney, and another former Oxbow executive, Joe Lombardi, who was also at the ranch during the incident and was fired, all declined to comment for this story. This town is billionaire Bill Koch's fascination with the Old West rendered in bricks and mortar. 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. 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. Billionaire Bill Koch is building an entire Wild West town (pictured above) on his 6,400-acre Bear Ranch in Gunnison County, Colo., the Denver Post reported. This fantasy, it would seem, is for Continue reading Billionaire Builds His Own Private . We climbed the stairs to the second story and toured the rooms wallpapered in Technicolor shades of teal, maroon, and pink. He runs the school like a business: The headmaster is the president and CEO, and the kids and the parents are the customers. It sits on a 420-acre meadow on his Bear Ranch below the Raggeds Wilderness Area in Gunnison County. 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. 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. No matter what Koch does, he seems to kick up dust in his wake. The club, which would have been a watering hole for affluent types in the late 1800s, has a mahogany bar with two female figures sculpted out of the wood that overlook the room. It's an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a playhouse. My husband and I are of the opinion that the American people will win. Fred Koch believed in hard work and was a self-made man, having pioneered a more efficient method of refining heavy oil into gasoline. Martensen made no calls, according to Zhan. 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. Both Bill and David headed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1958.