Yellowstone Club World
Members

Created as the most expensive destination club ever, Yellowstone Club World was a spinoff of the private golf and ski community in Montana, the Yellowstone Club.

Envisioned to include a select 150 members, Yellowstone Club World would charge between $3 million and $10 million to join, joining clubs like Legendary Retreats and Solstice Collection to crack the $1 million threshold.

Members would have exclusive access to a global collection of multi-million dollar properties, including a 14th century castle, a private island in the Caribbean, and a private golf club near St. Andrews. To acquire these properties, Tim Blixseth, the club's founder, obtained a $375 million loan from Credit Suisse, using the assets of Yellowstone Club as collateral.

The lofty sales goals the club had planned never materialized and Yellowstone Club World would only be able to acquire a small group of members.

The Credit Suisse loan went unpaid, leading to the bankruptcy of Yellowstone Club and Yellowstone Club World would follow with their involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing early in 2009.

Three creditors claiming $1.5 million in refunds each led the filing and as the lines blurred between the Yellowstone Club and Yellowstone Club World, the creditors sought who owned the assets of Yellowstone Club World.

"We're concerned the assets they do have are no longer in control of the Yellowstone Club World," said John Amsden, a lawyer representing the creditors. "The involuntary bankruptcy was necessary because it appears that there is no one minding the club's business. We hope that the matter can be resolved with a minimum of expense."

Like many other new destination clubs, Yellowstone Club World offered their inaugural members significant discounts on their memberships. While joining a new destination club does have distinct financial advantages in the forms of lower membership costs and annual dues, it does come at a cost. As evidenced by the Yellowstone Club World bankruptcy, these deposits may not be as secure as more established clubs in the sector.

If you are considering joining a new or established destination club, a good place to begin is to request a free copy of our Destination Club Guide.