EdraBlixseth

The Blixseth/Yellowstone auction was held on November 21 and the comprehensive sale of the belongings of Edra Blixseth amassed for the Yellowstone Club sold briskly. The Kamelot Auction House in Philadelphia saw its biggest crowd to date as many people came to check out the large collection of vintage furnishings, rugs and other objects. Some objects, such as antique rugs, sold for far over their estimates while other pieces including several antique French sideboards valued at nearly $30,000 each were sold at bargain-basement prices ($12,240 for the pair). A pair of life-size monumental cast bronze elk sold for over $10,000 while a similar pair of life-size bronze horses and riders went for $5,000 dollars. Objects were sold without the limitations of a minimum bid. The sale was estimated to bring in $500,000 to $800,000 and actual sales were about $750,000. A complete catalogue of the Yellowstone Collection including photo galleries and detailed descriptions of every lot is currently available at www.kamelotauctions.com.

I mentioned one auction of some of the furniture from the Yellowstone Club before but now more of the furniture that Edra Blixseth bought to furnish the luxury enclave is set to go up for auction. Kamelot Auction House in Philadelphia will host the sale of the former furnishings and art from the Yellowstone Club on November 21 at 10 a.m. The Blixseths had properties around the globe and travelled extensively finding art and furnishings wherever they roamed. Now as a result of their divorce and Edra Blixseth's bankruptcy these pieces must be sold. The Yellowstone Club collection will be offered without any minimum bids or reserves.

The auction includes nearly 50 rugs. The Blixseths bought from across a wide range of periods and styles but seemed to have a particular fondness for dark carved wood and chairs ulpholstered in velvet. The rosewood and bronze sideboard from a French chateau circa 1875 shown above is just one of their many European purchases. Other items include wooden telephone booths, antique display cases, industrial tables and shelving, taxidermy and vintage sporting equipment. A rare pair of carved and mirrored Victorian billiard cue racks and scoreboard will be offered along with two full-sized bronze horses and Colonial riders and a pair of life-size cast bronze elk which stand nearly ten feet high. A complete catalogue for this auction including photo galleries and detailed descriptions of every lot to be sold is currently available at www.kamelotauctions.com. Bidding by phone will be available for out-of-town customers.

We first heard in December that Tim Blixseth has placed Emerald Cay, his private island, up for sale for $75 million. Now that it has been on the market for six months for the same price it may be time for a price cut. It's more expensive than other Caribbean private islands but the five-acre private island, located off the coast of Providenciales is a complete compound. It has a guest house, a 'floating' tennis court, swimming pool, a gym, movie theater, three-story library and a wine cellar that holds 8,000 bottles. The island also has a several docks and a manmade beach. It connects to the mainland via a retractable bridge. Blixseth had planned to rent the property out as part of the Yellowstone Club World property portfolio. Even though it is a beautiful property which cost millions to bring to its current state of glory if Blixseth wants to sell he's probably going to have to adjust his expectations. After all, he's got bills to pay.

Meanwhile, it's liquidation time for Tim Blixseth's ex-wife Edra. A judge has converted her Chapter 11 bankruptcy case into a Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. An independent bankruptcy trustee will see that proceeds from the sale of assets named in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy action are turned over to creditors. Blixseth's Yellowstone Club was sold in a court-approved deal to Boston-based CrossHarbor Capital Partners for a bargain basement rate of $115 million. Tim Blixseth had turned the club over to his wife as part of their divorce settlement. Edra Blixseth also owns Porcupine Creek, a 240-acre estate in Rancho Mirage, California. For a while she's had Chateau de Farcheville, a medieval castle in France that comes with a moat, hunting grounds and its own helicopter pad on the market for $57 million. The St. Andrews golf estate in Scotland is also for sale. Edra Blixseth also owns significant collections of furniture, fine art, diamonds and other jewelry valued at $2.6 million, a 2004 Rolls Royce Phantom, a 2006 Aston Martin, and a 2007 BMW.

It's not really a surprise after months of financial trouble but the owner of the exclusive Yellowstone Club, Edra Blixseth, has filed for personal bankruptcy. The Yellowstone Club, an elite Montana playground for the wealthy including Bill Gates and Dan Quayle filed for Chapter 11 last November.

Former billionaire Edra Blixseth and her ex-husband Tim once had more money than they knew what to do with but a nasty divorce and the economy changed things dramatically. Edra Blixseth took over the millionaires-only club last August as part of the divorce. Documents filed in federal court in Montana, says she is a personal debt of over $500 million. As Bloomberg reports she filed bankruptcy in order to stop a creditor from seizing and liquidating property. The Blixseths owned property around the world and as part of the divorce Edra Blixseth got the castle in France and a golf property in Scotland both of which are up for sale. She also owns an estate near Palm Springs, California.

The Yellowstone Club will be auctioned for an opening bid of $100 million with CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC as the leading bidder. Yellowstone's lenders have apposed the sale to CrossHarbor saying that Blixseth is being influenced by the group, whose leader Sam Byrne loaned her $35million.

The Yellowstone Club was the destination of three families killed when their private plane crashed near Butte, Montana earlier this week.

The saga of the Yellowstone Club takes another turn. Now the IHT reports that the Wyoming club for the ultra-rich could be sold for $100 million to a Boston financial firm according to documents filed by club attorneys. An affiliate of CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC would pay $30 million in cash and $70 million in a promissory note for the 13,600 acre club near Yellowstone National Park. The deal comes with a promise that CrossHarbor would also put out $50 million in capital improvements and another $25 million for other expenses. Add that up and you get $175 million a number still far short of what the appraisals of the club have been. At various points it has been valued from $310 million to $780 million.

Times has certainly changed for the Yellowstone Club, an ultra-luxurious retreat for the wealthy including Bill Gates and Dan Quayle which was once to be the site of a single home to sell for $155 million. Now it is more than $400 million in debt. In late 2007 and early 2008 club member Sam Byrne made offers to purchase the club for a reported $455 million. He is the controlling force behind CrossHarbor.

The deal would be contingent on court approval and other purchase proposals and the deal would have to protect members who paid deposits of $250,000 to $300,000 to join the club as well as settling the accounts of local contractors and other vendors still owed money. Hoping for a better offer, club attorneys have asked the bankruptcy judge to push back the February 13 deadline for the club to come up with a reorganization plan. If the club could not find another higher offer within the next couple months then it would accept the CrossHarbor deal. The question remains whether anyone has both the money and the will to take on this wealthy enclave.

The club is currently owned by Edra Blixseth who took over the club after her ex-husband Tim Blixseth turned it over to her as part of their divorce settlement. The Blixseths, once praised for their amicable divorce, have seen their shared holdings split up and several of their other properties are for sale.

More troubles are facing the Yellowstone Club, which filed Chapter 11 last November. Now four creditors are suing the Yellowstone Club World resort for $4.65 million. The club was created by Tim Blixseth to take the Yellowstone Club concept and turn it into a global offering. Members signed up for the chance to stay in four multimillion dollar estates around the globe and paid a $1.5 million deposit. But because there wasn't enough interest the club never got off the ground and Blixseth let go of the idea after he turned over the Yellowstone Club to his ex-wife Edra. The four estates in question were split between the couple with Edra Blixseth getting the golf resort in Scotland and a castle in France and Tim Blixseth getting an estate in Mexico and a private island in the Caribbean. Now Tim Blixseth has put the island up for sale for $75 million and Edra Blixseth is trying to sell the castle, Chateau de Farcheville, for around $65 million (you can see pictures from the castle's rental listing here).

The four creditors are trying to force a liquidation of the entity's assets in order to get their money back. Meanwhile, Edra Blixseth faces a reorganization deadline of February 13 on the original Yellowstone Club, which has debts approaching $400 million. According to an AP article, a spokesperson for Edra Blixseth says just the membership deposits were considered assets of Yellowstone Club World, meaning that the properties may be separate and could be kept safe. Tim Blixseth sent an e-mail to The Associated Press saying that he no longer has any involvement in the Yellowstone Club World membership. He took a small dig at the ex, adding "too bad she did not honor her obligation." Two years ago, the Wall Street Journal praised the couple's amicable divorce but things have changed dramatically and the ongoing battles have weakened the finanical portfolios of both partners.

The saga of the Yellowstone Club has come to a sad place, the land of Chapter 11. The club in Montana's Gallatin Mountains first opened in 1999 as an ultra-elite enclave for the rich and powerful. Bill Gates, Dan Quayle and Jack Kemp were among the members as well as a whole host of titans of industry. The Club featured private homes, a ski hill, golf course and an elaborate club house. The property was also supposed to be host to what would have been the U.S.'s most expensive house at the time, a $155 million deluxe vacation retreat which was never built.

But things started to go sour when the Club's billionaire founders, Tim and Edra Blixseth divorced. At first it was an amicable and miraculously lawyer-free split. But things turned sour and the pair worked through a messy divorce that ended with Edra Blixseth as the club's majority owner and chief executive. This summer saw the end of a lawsuit between bicycle racing champ Greg LeMond and the battling Blixseths resulting in a $39.5 million settlement.

A couple of months ago the club announced an expansion plan with the Discovery Land Company that would have brought 450 more houses and condos, a luxury spa, golf clubhouse, baseball field and more ski runs to the 13,400-acre development. Those plans are now on hold. The club has said it has been unable to reach agreements with its creditors and bondholders but plans to regroup and continue onward with business as usual, opening for ski season with the usual 600 or so employees.

The lawsuit between bicycle racing champ Greg LeMond and the battling Blixseths has finally been reached. As I mentioned back in March, the Tour de France winner, his parents-in-law David and Sacia Morris, and Jorge Jasson, a family friend claimed Tim Blixseth tried to buy their shares at the Yellowstone Club for a total of $13 million, which they say was a fraction of their value. The parties had previously reached a $38 million settlement in the case. Blixseth paid the first installment on the suit but missed a payment in January. Now the suit has been settled for a $39.5 million settlement.

The news comes after Tim Blixseth and Edra Blixseth, who are working their way through a divorce that started off pleasant but has become contentious, have resolved the questions over ownership of the exclusive Yellowstone Club.Edra Blixseth is now the club's majority owner and chief executive, and will be footing LeMond's bill. Her spokesman Bill Keegan says she has ambitious plans for the Montana getaway which caters to the wealthy. Bill Gates and Dan Quayle are members and Greg LeMond has said he will keep his residence at the club.