Billionaire Builds His Own Private Old West Town

Billionaire Bill Koch loves the Old West so much that he decided to build his own private town somewhere within the wilds of Colorado. According to The Sideshow, the 72-year-old isn’t designing the place for public consumption. Instead, he’s putting up a gate and locking down the town. This fantasy, it would seem, is for his enjoyment only.

The town, which is located in Kebler Pass, will consist of 50 buildings spread across an impressive 420 acres. When everything is all said and done, a church, a saloon, and a train station will be counted among the numerous structures sprinkled across the property. These aren’t simple facades, either. Each building with be fully furnished, allowing its owner to live out his fantasy in exquisite detail.

Once Koch’s private Old West town have been completed, the billionaire intends to construct a lavish mansion on a nearby hill so he can look down up his beloved creation. In order to keep people from sneaking onto the property and enjoying the township for themselves, security guards will be posted on-site at all hours of the day.

Ramon Reed, chairman of the Gunnison County Planning Commission, recently spoke to The Denver Post about the project.

“It’s the kind of stuff I guess you would expect a billionaire to construct,” he explained. “It’s like something out of a ‘Gunsmoke’ movie set.”

According to Forbes, Koch, the founder and president of the energy company Oxbow Group, is estimated to be worth around $4 billion. In addition to practically hoarding Old West memorabilia, Koch has an affinity for rare wine and sailing. Not too long ago, he even won the America’s Cup race.

Since Koch isn’t too keen on having hordes of curious individuals popping over to his faux town for a visit, he hasn’t publicly commented on his fantasy world. Rest assured that it’s out there and that Koch is loving every second of it.