For several years, it was the site of an exclusive annual get-together called the Barefoot Economic Summit, organized by Dallas hedge-fund mogul Kyle Bass. According to reports, dozens of Bass’s friends and acquaintances—global economic thinkers and government officials, including then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas—would gather there under tight security to discuss big ideas about the economy and public policy.
Now, however, the 2,500-acre site of that private, under-the-radar get-together near Athens, Texas, called Barefoot Ranch, is up for sale by its three owners at a price ranging from $50 million to $100 million. The property is said to include multifaceted luxurious lodging, a PGA-rated golf course, trophy bass lakes, and “hosting capabilities” for high-security executives, state and national politicians, and music and film celebrities.
Icon Global founder Bernie Uechtritz, the property’s listing agent, said the upscale retreat is being sold because “the three owners have changed significantly since buying the ranch in 2009. One moved out of the country … and one built his own ranch in Colorado.” The property’s other owner, Hayman Capital Management LP founder Kyle Bass, is now “splitting his time between San Francisco and Dallas,” says Steele Schottenheimer, managing director-investor relations for Dallas-based Hayman Capital.
The Athens resort is “completely high-fenced” and surrounded by woods and wetlands, says Uechtritz, who sold the legendary W.T. Waggoner Ranch northeast of Dallas last year after listing it for $725 million. Barefoot Ranch “can sleep 90 people,” Uechtritz adds, and is located 10 minutes from an airstrip and half an hour from a jet-strip.
