The Magazine of the American Landowner is an essential guide for investors, landowners, and those interested in buying or selling land. The award-winning quarterly is known for its annual survey of America's largest landowners, The Land Report 100.
Issue link: http://landreport.epubxp.com/i/656422
T E X A S 2 0 1 6 | The LandReport 17 LANDREPORT.COM FrontGate I N V E S T I N G I N V E S T I N G | TO P T E N | L A N D ' S B E S T F R I E N D | E S S E N T I A L S J ay Ellis, an investment fund founder, may be the only person in Texas who is giddy about collapsing oil prices. "Oil is $33. Markets are in turmoil. The timing couldn't be more perfect," he wrote in a recent email. Although many in his state fret about the implications of cheap oil, Ellis sees it as an opportunity to buy another crucial asset: ranchland. "Right now, you're seeing the first signs of panic," said Ellis, who started Sporting Ranch Capital, based in Dallas. In 2012, the group, which is backed by Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens, opened its first private equity fund to buy and restore ranch property throughout the West, including Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and New Mexico. Now Ellis is raising a $100 million, Texas-only ranch fund. The first fund focused on restoring and enhancing ranch property to improve hunting and fishing habitats, but the new fund is aimed at scooping up $15 million to $25 million "trophy ranches" from owners who want to sell quickly and quietly. "When you make your giant hit down here, you buy a ranch and a jet," Ellis said. "The ranch goes first because your jet goes with your obituary." In Texas, where wealth is measured not in dollars but in acres, land prices have for decades followed the price of oil. "There is this ongoing love for the land among Texans, to Oil Prices Spur Investment Sporting Ranch Capital announces a $100 million, Texas-only ranch fund. SHUTTERSTOCK Te xt by Sarah Max