You know it’s a big deal when the Wall Street Journal agrees to treat a real estate listing as news. Have a look. Pickens spent five decades assembling Mesa Vista’s 64,809 acres and building all its houses and airports and aqueducts and unicorn stables. The $250 million asking price makes it one of the country’s most expensive private properties on the market.
I have two questions about this listing. First one: why is he selling it? The WSJ quotes from a statement released by Pickens: “Selling the ranch is the prudent thing for an 89-year-old man to do. It’s time to get my life and my affairs in order. There are many reasons why the time is right to sell the ranch now, not the least of them ensuring that what I truly believe is one of the most magnificent properties in the world winds up with an individual or entity that shares my conservation beliefs.” I guess I’ll take him at his word. Pickens is built from different stuff than I am. If I’d spent more than half my life putting together one of the most magnificent properties in the world, I’d enjoy it till my death.
Second question: after his moves with the Hicks and Crow estates, does Andy Beal have any dry powder left?
