Late oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens' massive Texas ranch just sold at a $60 million price cut after 5 years on the market — take a look inside
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T. Boone Pickens, the famed oil prospector and hedge-fund founder, died on September 11, 2019, at age 91.
He was the owner of Mesa Vista Ranch, one of the most expensive properties in America.
Pickens' Texas ranch just sold for around $190 million, after five years on the market.
After languishing on the market for years, late oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens' massive Texas ranch has finally found a buyer.
In 2017, the late oil magnate listed his ranch in the Texas Panhandle, northeast of Amarillo, for $250 million. Five years later, the estate was sold — but for $60 million less than its listed price.
Pickens, a famous oil prospector, hedge-fund founder, and philanthropist, died on September 11, 2019, aged 91. Pickens made his fortune as the founder of oil and gas company Mesa Petroleum and the hedge fund BP Capital Management.
Pickens' famed Texas estate, the Mesta Vista Ranch, was initially listed for $250 million. But on January 14, 2020, the property received a $30 million price cut, reported Mansion Global.
In late November, Pickens' estate finally sold, but at a further reduced price, Jay Rosser, a longtime representative for Pickens, told Insider. In total, the estate sold for within 10% of the asking price of $170 million, Rosser added.
Monte Lyons, the broker for the ranch, told Insider that the sale was made in two transactions. In September, Cattle rancher Travis Chester bought some 27,000 acres of the estate, while convenience store businessman Bill Kent purchased the rest of the ranch in November. Lyons declined to reveal how much Chester and Kent paid for each parcel of the estate.
According to Lyons, the total cost of landscaping and accumulating land for the estate "far exceeded the original list price" of $25o million. During his lifetime, Pickens spent an estimated $140 million accumulating and restoring the land for the ranch, per Forbes.
When Pickens first bought about 2,900 acres of land here in 1971, the only structure was a corrugated metal house that he used to stay warm during days of hunting quail.
Source: Hall & Hall, Mesa Vista Ranch
Since then, the ranch has increased by 22 times its original size and now covers some 64,800 acres.
Source: Hall & Hall
There is now a number of different structures on the land: a lake house, a lodge, and a gatehouse, as well as a 6,000-square-foot family house, a pub, and a massive, 11,000-square-foot kennel.
Source: Hall & Hall
Pickens' childhood home once sat on the property. The structure was moved there from Oklahoma in 2008.
Source: Wall Street Journal
There are roughly 12 miles of water in the form of man-made waterfalls, creeks, and lakes.
Source: Hall & Hall
In 2014, Pickens married his fifth wife in a chapel on the premises. The couple later divorced.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
The front door of the lake house used to be situated on Bing Crosby's house. It's a metal door with stained glass.
Source: Hall & Hall
The lake house has 3,800 square feet of patios and 11,500 square feet of living space.
Source: Hall & Hall
The ranch has its own FAA-approved airport. The hangar has a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment upstairs, which is meant to be for pilots.
Source: Hall & Hall
There's also a home theater that seats 30 people.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Pickens' lake house lodge, dog kennel, airport, art, golf course, furnishings and equipment were included in the estate's partial sale to Kent, according to Lyons.
Pickens once owned pieces from artists N.C. Wyeth and Charles M. Russell, as well as an oil painting of his late dog, Papillon, that hangs in the master bedroom of the lake house.
Source: The Wall Street Journal.
Pickens was a seasoned quail hunter. The dogs can be housed in the property's kennel, which boasts a veterinary lab, an office, a meat-processing center, and an exercise area.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
There's also a single-story structure where ammunition, hunting gear, rifles, and shotguns are stored.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
March 2, 2023: This story has been updated to reflect the sale of the estate.
Read the original article on Business Insider
