Yellowstone Club World
Resignation and Redemption

The global version of the Yellowstone Club, a Montana based ski and golf community that included politicians, celebrities, and executives, Yellowstone Club World would enter the destination club industry as the most expensive club ever created.

Paying over $40 million for some of the club's residences, founder Tim Blixseth would scour the globe looking for properties to "wow" members. Included in the club's property portfolio would be French castle less than an hour from Paris, a private golf club near the famed St. Andrews, a Mexican resort community, and even a private island in the Caribbean.

To purchase these properties, Blixseth would obtain a loan from Credit Suisse for $375 million, using the original Yellowstone Club as collateral.

Limited to just 150 members, Yellowstone Club World would disclose their invitation only approach, reserving membership for only the most elite globetrotters. New members would pay between $3 million and $10 million to join and existing Yellowstone Club members would receive their memberships for $1.5 million.

If a member elected to resign their membership, they could do so and receive 100% of their original deposit returned to them. While not publicly disclosed, like many other destination clubs, these members would likely have to be put on a resignation waiting list where they would wait for a sufficient number of new members to join the club for their membership to be redeemed.

As the club began to move forward, countless problems arose. Not only were Tim and his wife Edra working through a public bankruptcy that divided the assets of the exclusive destination club but legal issues began to weigh on the Yellowstone Club. Adding in poor sales for Yellowstone Club World and any chance of the young club succeeding evaporated.

Unable to repay the Credit Suisse loan, the assets of Yellowstone Club and Yellowstone Club World would further blur and Yellowstone Club World would be forced to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy early in 2009 as members sought to find out who controlled the club's assets and to receive their initial membership deposits refunded to them.

"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."

"The members of the Yellowstone Club World were promised access to very specific and significant properties in return for their significant membership dues. They anticipate that their interests to those properties will be respected," Amsden would go on to say.