Remember the mid-to-late 1990s? There were heady days when Ross and Rachel took us on an emotional roller coaster, the Spice Girls made us question what we really really wanted, and the promise of a new thing called the World Wide Web spawned a slew of wide-eyed geniuses sure they would be the next class of American billionaires. We know how that turned out: an early-2000s bust, which spawned a slew of teary-eyed paupers who couldn’t believe they had agreed to accept payment in stock options.
Halsey Minor made it through, though. While his contemporaries were going broke, he built CNet, struck a $1.8 billion buyout deal with CBS, and then… went broke. Minor has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, since he only has $50 million in assets to pay $100 million in debts.
Where did it all go?
1. Historic Houses.
People talk about buying houses when they strike it rich. Minor didn’t just buy houses, he bought old houses - the kind that have fancy names. In San Francisco, Minor plunked down $22 million for Le Petit Trianon in 2007. For good measure, he also picked up the historic Carter’s Grove near Williamsburg, Va. for just north of $15 million. Both were fixer-upper projects that Minor never fixed up; in Virginia state historic preservation inspectors took particular objection to the neglect - which included mortgaging the property to buy a private jet and artwork.
2. Playing the Ponies.
Gambling on horse races can siphon money out of a bank account quickly, but Minor went a step further and started buying horses. Watching the Triple Crown and hearing about lavish stud fees make racehorses sound like a great investment, just like $100 million contracts make professional athletics sound like a viable career choice. In reality, it’s a tricky investment that requires expertise and research. Trainers, vets, stables, oats, and the like cost money. If the horse doesn’t win, neither the folks at Elmers or Ikea will pay off the sunk costs.
3. Art.
Over the last three years, Minor has been selling off his collection of modern art to pay off banks and auction houses. One auction described his passion for art collection as “a hunger that cannot be satisfied, a thirst that cannot be quenched” - which sounds more like a diagnosis for someone who failed out of rehab. Surprisingly, Minor couldn’t even quench his thirst for modern art with provocative pieces like an aluminum couch, which he bought for some reason.
4. Hotels.
Minor Family Hotels launched to build three star hotels in Historic districts. The effort fell through when his very first project - the Landmark Hotel in Charlottesville, Va., filed for bankruptcy after initial construction ground to a halt among financing issues. Even if he could afford the projects, the decision to build decent hotels in historic districts - areas which, by nature, have stringent zoning regulations and building codes - is obviously doomed.
In fairness to Minor, he did save money on other aspects. For example, he saved over $10 million by not paying taxes, according to the state of California.