Inside The World’s Most Exclusive Club
Five years ago, tech entrepreneur and Shark Tank cohost Robert Herjavec fell in love with the Yellowstone Club. Located about an hour's drive south of Bozeman, Montana, and some 50 miles north of Yellowstone National Park, the club owns a private mountain with more skiable acres than Killington, Stowe or any other resort on the East Coast. "Amazing place for families and kids," Herjavec raves, noting that his 6-year-old twins already ski better than his wife, Kym. The couple, who met on Dancing with the Stars, first bought a condo at the club, which is adjacent to the Big Sky ski resort, in 2019 before deciding to build their own place. They spent three years and $28 million (including furnishings) on a 13,500-square-foot, eight-bedroom dream house that features cathedral views of the Rockies. "We have lots of homes. This is our favorite," Herjavec says.
He is not alone. Herjavec is one of 885 members of the ultraswank Yellowstone Club: 15,000 mountainous acres of world-class skiing, golfing, fly fishing and horseback riding. There is a movie theater for kids, a concert venue that has hosted acts including Sting, Norah Jones and James Taylor, and even "sugar shacks" stocked with all sorts of free stuff like candy bars, snacks and hot soups sprinkled across the mountain and greens. The club's mountain has 21 chairlifts, one gondola, 2,900 skiable acres—and no lift lines. North Carolina real estate billionaire Roy Carroll, who has a house on the same road as Herjavec, says it's not unusual to be the only person on a run.
"They hit the sweet spot for a multigenerational destination . . . for people aged 8 to 80," says Carroll, 61, who built a $37 million (assessed value) home there with room for future grandchildren. "I built a house we wouldn't outgrow for 50 years."
Perhaps the club's biggest draw is exclusivity. Applicants need gold-plated references and must submit to a detailed background check. Membership is capped at 914 to prevent overcrowding. Admission requires buying land, a home or a condo. Even the least expensive undeveloped plot will set you back $10 million. Condos start at just under $7 million but average $15.5 million; homes cost $20 million or more. Then there's a $500,000 refundable deposit and annual dues of $78,000, which cover unlimited skiing and golfing for your immediate family (including parents and grandchildren, but not adult siblings) plus 140 guest days a year.
Almost as difficult as getting in is figuring out who else belongs. Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are members, as is Mark Zuckerberg. Ditto Tom Brady. Many try to keep their slice of paradise private by owning via LLCs. One knowledgeable local estimates the club has between 50 and 80 billionaire members.
After combing Montana public records for more than 300 club properties and digging through other sources, we found 19 billionaires and two children of billionaires, including previously unreported names such as hedge fund tycoons Bill Ackman and Felix Baker, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Slack founder Stewart Butterfield, Waffle House chairman Joe Rogers Jr. and Blackstone chairman Steve Schwarzman's son Teddy, who is a movie producer. Melinda French Gates got a Yellowstone house in her divorce settlement. We also found dozens of centimillionaires, including former Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson, venture capitalist Chris Sacca and Burton snowboards owner Donna Carpenter.
"You see [famous members] frequently," says Henry Helgeson, who joined in 2018 after he sold his payments company Cayan to TSYS, another payments firm, for $1 billion. "A lot of those people have trouble just being anonymous and walking out of the house without people bothering them. It's a place where they can feel comfortable doing that."
The club was the brainchild of former billionaire and timber entrepreneur Tim Blixseth, who bought 140,000 acres near Yellowstone National Park in 1991 and swapped it for the land for the Yellowstone Club. It opened in 1999, but Blixseth borrowed $375 million against it, then spent about $200 million to buy yachts and fancy homes for a high-end time-share venture that never took off. The club had to file for bankruptcy in 2008.
Boston-based real estate investment firm CrossHarbor Capital—alongside about 40 individual Yellowstone Club members—bought it out of bankruptcy in 2009 for $115 million. CrossHarbor managing partner Sam Byrne says they've put more than $1 billion into it over the past 15 years, and plan to keep spending more. Why not? Those early backers have already earned 4.5 times their invested capital. Says Byrne, "What we offer is not replicated anywhere."
Yellowstone Club's A-List
Illustrations by Ben Kirchner for Forbes Bill AckmanThe outspoken founder of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital has two properties at the Yellowstone Club: A four-bedroom home likely worth $20 million and a nearly eight-acre undeveloped lot nearby that's assessed at $10 million.
Tom BradyThe former star NFL quarterback and ex-husband of supermodel Gisele Bündchen looks to have gotten the couple's home at the Yellowstone Club as part of their 2022 divorce. No wonder, given how much he enjoys it. He brought his parents and two kids to visit this summer and posted photos on Instagram of his kids walking on ropes through trees as part of a ropes course, while he did some rock climbing. He's also brought several of his former Patriots teammates to ride mountain bikes on the club's winding trails.
Ron BurkleThe founder and managing partner of Los Angeles investment firm Yucaipa Companies and chairman of private club firm Soho House, Burkle has an estimated $75 million 46-acre property at the club with several homes on it, including a nine-bedroom, 7,600-square-foot dwelling. Yucaipa paid $55 million for a roughly one-third stake in the Yellowstone Club in 2010 and then sold it in 2021 for about five times that sum.
Stewart Butterfield and Jen RubioButterfield, the 51-year-old billionaire founder of business messaging app Slack, and his wife, Jen Rubio, founder of luggage brand Away, bought their home in 2021—the same year Salesforce bought Slack for nearly $28 billion. The home is now worth around $38 million.
Melinda French GatesWhen Melinda and Bill divorced in 2021, she got their now $40 million home (eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms) on the winding Andesite Ridge Road, nicknamed Billionaires' Ridge. Also transferred from Bill: 18 acres of land spread out over four lots nearby. In May, Melinda posted a selfie on Facebook with Big Sky's snow-capped Lone Peak in the background—and a big smile on her face. The caption: "2024 so far."
Jimmy HaslamThe Cleveland Browns owner has a place near the golf course, built in 2018, that has five bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms and is worth in the neighborhood of $22 million.
Frank McCourtThe investor and former owner of the L.A. Dodgers purchased the 160-acre Ranch #2 at the Club. It's currently vacant land, but there are plans from an architecture firm to build a main residence, two guest cabins, stables, a covered bridge and a "subtle entrance monument."
Eric SchmidtThe former Google CEO hosts a small annual conference at the Yellowstone Club during the third weekend in July billed (modestly) as a gathering of the world's smartest and most interesting people. Attendees have included Lady Gaga, journalist Ronan Farrow, author Adam Grant and economist Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group. The event often runs concurrently with the town's annual Professional Bull Riding rodeo. Strange bedfellows indeed.
Justin TimberlakeThe pop star and his actress wife, Jessica Biel, reportedly joined the club in 2015. Seeking a lower profile life, the celebrity couple lived full-time in Big Sky for a time and sent at least one of their children to the local school. They have donated at least $100,000 to Big Sky's community and recreation center. According to sources, they still own their Yellowstone Club home but now may live in Bozeman.
Nick WoodmanThe billionaire founder of GoPro, which makes wearable, sports-focused video cameras, bought a home at the Yellowstone Club in 2011 and moved there full time in 2018. He and his wife, Jill, spearheaded the creation of Big Sky's community and recreation center with a $4 million donation. "This is the most special place that I've ever been able to be, let alone live with my family," Woodman said at the 2019 groundbreaking ceremony.
Mark ZuckerbergThe Meta billionaire, known for posting snippets of his life on Instagram and Facebook, gave a glimpse of his time in Montana in March including photos of a closet packed with one-piece ski suits (designs included American flag, camouflage and leopard print) as well as a video of Lone Peak, the iconic mountain atop the nearby Big Sky ski resort. A spokesperson for Zuckerberg would not comment on whether he belongs to the Yellowstone Club, but locals confirm sitings and Forbes found an LLC it thinks belongs to Zuckerberg tied to three homes purchased in 2015. (The LLC is named Ferragosto, after an Italian holiday that is linked to emperor Augustus. Zuckerberg's three daughters are all named after Roman emperors, and the LLC has ties to a Palo Alto accounting firm.)
With reporting by Stephen Pastis , Alicia Park and Araceli Crescencio
MORE FROM FORBES How Palantir Became The S&P's Most Expensive Stock—And Earned CEO Alex Karp A Spot On The Forbes 400 How This Immigrant Billionaire Outmaneuvered Boeing To Build America's Next "Doomsday" Nuclear Planes
