Aspen's billionaire mountain

The view from a $13.5 million listing on Red Mountain.

Aspen, Colo., has long been up to its waist in both snow and dough. The mountain town got its start pulling silver from the ground and of late has become especially skilled at yanking platinum cards from overstuffed wallets. (How many other ski towns boast both Louis Vuitton and a Prada store?) In particular, billionaires pay top dollar for parcels on Aspen’s Red Mountain. The neighborhood, whose phone book reads like a Davos VIP list, lies in close proximity to downtown and serves up Colorado’s requisite killer views. Divided into Upper and Lower, the area has generated most of Aspen’s highest-dollar transactions for two years running, including hedge funder John Paulson's $49 million Hala Ranch buy in June.
“It’s always been a cornerstone of residential real estate in Aspen,” says Joshua Saslove of Joshua & Co. "Add in the people who live there, and it’s understandable why others want to.” Maybe they should rename the neighborhood Green Mountain.
Here’s a rundown of the mountain’s ultra-rich residents, by street.
WILLOUGHBY WAY
Owner: Lewis Sanders, CEO of Sanders Capital
Sale price: $43 million in 2009
The home: 21,500-square-foot, 10-bedroom contemporary compound on 4.5 acres; the largest Aspen sale in ’09; all-cash; wasn’t listed for sale on the market.
Owners: Miguel and Jackie Bezos, parents of Jeff Bezos
Value: $20 million
The home: The mom and dad of Amazon’s billionaire founder bought on Lower Red Mountain in 1999; remodeled 10,600-square-foot home with 7 beds, 8 baths on 1.9 acres in 2000.
Owner: Matthew Bucksbaum, real estate magnate
Value: $16 million
The home: Bucksbaum is a longtime owner on Lower Red Mountain; 9,900-square-foot house includes 6 beds, 8 baths on 3.4 acres; built in 1993.
Owner: Daniel Och, hedge fund billionaire
Value: $20.3 million
The home: Och bought 1.5 Lower Red Mountain acres in 2004, tore down existing property and built a 12,100-square-foot mansion with 7 beds and 9.5 baths; sold his 8,500-square-foot Upper Red Mountain home in May for $12.2 million.
RANCH ROAD
Owner: Leslie Wexner, retail billionaire
Value: $31.4 million for two parcels ($23.7 million and $7.7 million)
The home: Adjoining properties totaling 65 acres on Upper Red Mountain with 5-bed, 14-bath, 25,400-square-foot manse.
HUNTER CREEK ROAD
Owner: Bren Simon, widow of billionaire Melvin
Value: $15.5 million
The home: The late Simon Property Group cofounder and his wife, an interior designer, bought in 1995; 10,330-square-foot ski house; 6 beds, 9 baths on 5.4 acres.
E. REDS ROAD
Owner: Sid Bass, oil billionaire
Value: $7.4 million
The home: Longtime Upper Red Mountain resident has 3-bed, 5-bath abode on 1 pricey acre.
W. REDS ROAD
Owners: Alex and Lorraine Dell, parents of Michael Dell
Value: $10.5 million
The home: The grandparents of Dell Computer own this 8,520-square-foot Upper Red Mountain house with 4 beds, 6 baths on 1 acre.
RED MOUNTAIN ROAD
Owner: John Doerr, venture capital billionaire
Value: $12.7 million
The home: Upper Red Mountain 43-acre compound along Hunter Creek; 8,600-square-foot abode with 5 beds, 5.5 baths.
RIDGE ROAD
Owner: Stan and Ann Walton Kroenke, real estate billionaire and Wal-Mart heiress
Value: $20.75 million in 2011
The home: One of the priciest sales of 2011. Comprises 2 adjacent properties with an 11,300-square-foot main house, a 4,200-square-foot guesthouse and a 1,600-bottle wine cellar.
WRIGHTS ROAD
Owner: Mortimer Zuckerman, real estate billionaire
Value: $9.5 million in 2009
The home: Valued at $8.3 million, 13% less than its post-bubble purchase price; 7,100-square-foot, 4-bed house by local architect Charles Cunniffe occupies less than an acre.
PLACER LANE
Owner: Neil Bluhm, casino billionaire
Value: $25.5 million
The home: Bluhm razed and rebuilt a 16,000-square-foot mansion with 10 beds and 9.5 baths on 3.8 acres.
NIGHTHAWK DRIVE
Owner: Paul Foster, oil scion
Sale price: $15 million in 2011
The home: 10,700 sq ft spec home , called The Nighthawk, with aromatherapy steam room on roughly 1 acre; originally listed for $23.9 million in 2010.
PITKIN WAY
Owner: William Wrigley Jr., candy billionaire
Value: $38.4 million
The home: Acquired third parcel for $10 million in October 2011 to create this multi-parcel, 2.6-acre family compound with 12,600 sq. ft. combined living space.