A billionaire’s playground outside Aspen may be trading ski town whispers for a gavel. A sprawling ranch owned by billionaire Bill Koch is reportedly set to go up for auction, according to a CBS Colorado video published on May 28. The compound covers roughly 52 acres and packs more than 25,000 square feet of living space into a main lodge and multiple guest cabins. It has already been through a high-profile cycle of eye-popping list prices and trims, which makes any shift in sales strategy a big deal in Aspen’s tiny trophy-home market.
As reported by CBS News Colorado, the video says the 52-acre compound will be auctioned but offers few details on timing or which auction house might run the sale. The segment zeroes in on the sheer scale of the estate and its mountain views rather than paperwork spelling out how or when an auction would actually unfold.
Property details
As reported by the Denver Gazette, the property at 125 Rooney Circle spans about 52 acres and includes roughly 25,277 square feet of space spread across eight structures. The Real Deal reports that the main lodge alone comes in at about 16,600 square feet and sits roughly 10 miles from downtown Aspen.
Price history and listing
The compound was first marketed publicly in early 2025 with an asking price of $125 million, according to Realtor.com. That sky-high number would have put it in the running for one of the priciest residential listings in Colorado history.
The number did not stay there. Coverage later noted a price cut to about $99 million, a move that some market watchers said could widen the pool of potential ultra-wealthy buyers. That reduction was reported by SnowBrains.
Why an auction would matter in Aspen
Auction sales are not unheard of in Aspen’s uppermost tier. Several luxury properties have been taken to auction in recent years as sellers try to tap global buyers and lock in a time-certain closing. Concierge Auctions and local reporting show that auction platforms can compress marketing timelines and lure international bidders, tools that can be attractive when the buyer pool is tiny and extremely wealthy.
For now, the clearest public signal that Koch’s property may be headed to an auction format still comes from CBS News Colorado, while past listing coverage lays out the estate’s size and its prior nine-figure asking prices. The Real Deal and other local outlets have tracked the property’s listing history, but specific auction terms have not been confirmed publicly.
