Walt Danley Realty
The property in Montana is a working cattle ranch set on 7,000 acres.
- Two ranches in Montana and Arizona are for sale as a set for $50 million.
- The owners say they want the buyer to be able to combine a modern Western lifestyle in Scottsdale with an "Old West" lifestyle in Montana.
- Together, the ranches span about 7,100 acres and include a swimming pool and sauna, an art museum, shooting ranges, tennis courts, and world-class equestrian facilities.
For Morton Fleischer, "the cowboy is the icon of America."
That's why he and he his wife, Donna, set out to create the ultimate Western lifestyle for themselves by building two ranches: one in Arizona and one in Montana.
Now these two ranches, which span about 7,100 acres combined, are for sale as a set for $50 million.
"This is all about the lifestyle," Morton told Business Insider. "The ranches are beautiful, but when you combine them, we're combining a modern Western lifestyle [in Arizona]... with an 'Old West' lifestyle in Montana. Montana is essentially very much like the 'Old West' was, and Scottsdale's the 'New West.' When you combine them, you can live both lifestyles."
For the Fleischers, the Scottsdale ranch, with its swimming pool, sauna, and access to city amenities, is the "New West" while the Montana ranch, a working cattle ranch set on 7,000 acres embodies the "Old West."
The package includes the MorDo Ranch in Scottsdale and Horsethief Basin Ranch just outside of Lewistown, Montana as a joint listing by Walt Danley Realty in Scottsdale and PureWest Real Estate in Bozeman, Montana, as exclusive affiliates of Christie's International Real Estate.
The Fleischers built the ranch in Scottsdale, where Morton's business was based, about 25 years ago. Morton calls Scottsdale "the next Beverly Hills" because of its shopping facilities, top-notch health care, and other amenities.
Later, after hearing of Montana's ranch culture from one of their employees, the Fleischers decided they wanted a real cattle ranch. So about 10 years after they built MorDo, they bought five different parcels of land near Lewistown, Montana to create a true working cattle ranch.
Morton, who said he used to be under a lot of pressure in Wall Street as co-founder and chairman of Store Capital Corp., credits his nature-focused Western lifestyle for his longevity.
"We often like to say we wouldn't have lived this long had we not lived this way," Morton told Business Insider. "Because I think it takes the pressure off and it adds a lot of value to life, and a different kind of value other than monetary value. I'm 81 years old and I firmly believe I wouldn't have gotten this far had we not lived the way we've lived."
But the Fleischers are now ready to pass on their ranches. All of the equipment and staff on both ranches will stay on for the buyer. "This is a package," Morton said. "It's all set for them. They don't have to do anything."
Here's a look at the two ranches that represent different versions of the archetypal Western lifestyle.