MANDALAY RANCH — Peter Guber's Aspen Mountain Estate
by Kaya Morgan

With over thirty years in the entertainment industry, Peter Guber knows how to create an entertainment empire as well as lead a company through difficult times. One of the true icons of the Hollywood movie industry, today Guber remains one of the most experienced multimedia executives in tinseltown.

Guber's background has been diverse and helped shape the history of the movie industry. After graduating from the University of Syracuse, he attended the University of Florence before earning a Bachelor or Arts and Master of Law degree at New York University, then being admitted to the New York and California Bars. He was pursuing an MBA at NYU's Graduate School of Business when in 1968 Columbia Pictures recruited him for an entry-level executive position. Within three years he had become Studio Chief, producing such hits as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Way We Were, Taxi Driver and Tommy.

Branching out from the motion picture business in 1976, Guber co-founded Casablanca Records and Films with such recording greats as Donna Summer, Kiss, Captain and Tenille and The Village People including some of the most successful soundtracks of all time. After producing The Deep and Midnight Express, which won seven Oscar nominations and received a Golden Globe for "Best Picture," he was named "Producer of the Year."

After considerable wheeling and dealing with the production companies, Guber joined forces with Jon Peters in 1982, forming one of Hollywood's most effective producing teams of the 1980s. The pair soon became one of the shrewdest in the business, often taking big risks that resulted in giant box office successes such as Flashdance, The Color Purple and Batman, garnering 50 Academy Award nominations and winning the "Best Picture" Oscar for Rainman.

In 1988, their company and Columbia Pictures were both acquired by the Sony Corporation. Appointed as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Guber helped breathe new life into the ailing company, restructuring the organization along with rebuilding the Culver City studio lot for around $103 million, making it into a high-tech film and TV production facility.

Within the Sony empire, Guber played a substantial role in the creation of such Columbia Pictures' box office hits as A Few Good Men, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Groundhog Day, and In the Line of Fire along with his other major financial successes released through the Sony TriStar Pictures banner that included Terminator 2, Basic Instinct, Sleepless in Seattle and Philadelphia. This left the competition clearly in the dust with Sony achieving a box office market share of 17 percent as well as leading the industry with nine $100 million dollar blockbusters and twenty-one $50 million dollar domestic hits garnering a remarkable 120 Academy Award nominations, the highest four-year total ever for a single company.

However, when production slowed down in late 1994, he began to set new sights elsewhere. Then, in 1995, Guber's newest vision of creating a multimedia entertainment vehicle spawned Mandalay with motion pictures, television, sports entertainment and new media. Each of these enterprises has grown into effective portals in their various arenas.

So, it was no surprise that Guber and wife of 35 years, Tara, named their Colorado estate, Mandalay Ranch. Just nine minutes from Aspen and two minutes from the Snowmass lifts, their secluded trophy property represents the most unique and sought-after location. As one of the quintessential mountain resort communities in America, Aspen attracts ski and outdoor enthusiasts as well as a bevy of celebrities and high-net worth individuals looking for a quiet respite from their hectic lives.

Bordering the White River National Forest with 650 acres of gently rolling woodland and wildflower drenched meadows, the property stretches from East Owl Creek near Buttermilk ski area to The Pines in Snowmass. Created as a serene place to renew the spirit, Mandalay Ranch is entirely covered by virgin forests and meadows. Both Owl Creek and Spring Creek run through it with tranquil ponds and bubbling waterfalls of unparalleled privacy and beauty. The fenced southern border butts up against the White River National Forest with a network of private roads to access the entire ranch.

The 450-acre West Ranch has an approved building site for a 15,000 square foot home, Spring Creek, picnic grounds, direct access to Buttermilk Ski lifts and eleven 35-acre parcels. While the 200-acre East Ranch consists of the 15,000-square-foot ranch home, two guest cabins, a 3,500-square-foot barn with living quarters upstairs and two suites downstairs. The barn has an existing building approval to be replaced with a new 7,500-square-foot home. Both properties have been subdivided into 35-acre ranch parcels.

The architecture reflects the most spectacular mountain lodge where every luxury has been considered. The main home includes seven bedrooms, seven and a half baths, the great room, family room, dining room, designer kitchen with Sub-Zero and Thermador appliances, a den and state-of-the-art home theatre. The extensive outdoor entertaining areas include a pool overlooking stunning mountain views, and also includes a spectacular indoor gymnasium and a basketball court.

Beautifully appointed, all of the furnishings were hand picked by Peter and Tara to add to the feeling of being surrounded by the awesome beauty of a serene wilderness area. The exterior logs were brought in from Canada with latia wood slat ceilings and the flooring is exquisitely handcrafted of wide pine board. Privacy walls drop down from the ceiling around the dining room to provide an intimate setting for even the most private entertaining. The wood and stone deck surrounds the house offering the most incredible views of the Rocky Mountains, Continental Divide and city of Aspen.

Close to the main house, yet in their own remote settings are the two guest cabins and the 3,500-squre-foot barn also ideal for guests. One of the cabins is fronted by a manicured meadow-like lawn with magnificent views, while the other sits at the base of a pond overlooking a waterfall both with wood-burning fireplaces. The barn has its own separate living quarters with four-bedrooms upstairs and two one-bedroom suites downstairs including a large living room and spectacular wood burning fireplace, dining room and compact kitchen area.

This ultimate equestrian estate is truly a horse lovers paradise with approximately 100 acres of irrigated meadowland which is hayed. The interlacing network of lightly graveled roads that run throughout the property is ideal for strolling and riding horses while the White River National Forest to the south is superb for horseback jaunts into the high country and Snowmass ski area.

One of the most private and spectacular properties in America today, the entire Mandalay Ranch is available for sale at $63,000,000 US; the West Ranch can be purchased for $29,000,000.

For more information on this property, contact 970.920.0571

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