Yellowstone Club files for bankruptcy

The Yellowstone Club, an exclusive Montana mountain retreat for the ultra-rich, said it filed for bankruptcy protection Monday after failing to secure new financing -- underscoring that even the elite can’t escape the country’s current economic troubles.

Spokesman Bill Keegan said the club filed for Chapter 11 protection in federal Bankruptcy Court in Montana. The move came just two months after the club announced an ambitious expansion plan through a partnership with Arizona-based Discovery Land Co.

The gated, millionaires-only club on 13,400 acres in Montana’s Gallatin Mountains boasts a private ski hill and golf course. Opened in 1999, it counts former Vice President Dan Quayle and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates among its 340 members.

In a statement, the club said it had been unable to secure financing arrangements with its creditors and bondholders. It plans to reorganize its finances and emerge from bankruptcy “as soon as possible,” the statement said.

“We felt this step was necessary to address short-term liquidity constraints and preserve Yellowstone Club’s long-term future,” Yellowstone Chief Executive Edra Blixseth said.

Monday’s bankruptcy filing marked the latest in a string of shake-ups at the club. Its billionaire founders, Tim and Edra Blixseth, recently divorced, and in August the club settled a lawsuit brought by club member and cycling superstar Greg LeMond for $39.5 million.

LeMond and several co-plaintiffs had accused Tim Blixseth of trying to buy out their minority stake in the club for less than its true value.

After emerging from her divorce with control of the club, Edra Blixseth in September laid out plans to build 450 more houses and condos and new amenities including a luxury spa, golf clubhouse, baseball field and more ski runs.

Those plans are on hold pending resolution of the club’s financial woes.