Not all of the combatants in the Billionaire vs. Millionaire conflicts are clearly demarcated by 10-figure wealth. It may be more of a state of mind. Surely, someone with a net worth of $5,000,000 lies within the Millionaire camp. But someone with, say, $300,000,000 might just be a Billionaire, or at least is practicing to be one.
There may be a few defining characteristics by which one could qualify as a fighter in the Billionaire army. Maybe, the ability to buy an 8 figure 5th home in the Roaring Fork, paying in cash (or at least without encumbering any debt), would qualify. I’m reminded of a house we once toured on Red Mountain. Gary, a carpenter friend in the valley, had been working there for over a year, cutting drywall and pounding nails while the castle slowly took shape. As we wandered amongst the joists and dangling wires, he kept pointing out the various features-to-be. “Over there is the spa room” – about the size of our living room, it appeared to be ready for several enclosed showers and two hot tubs the size of a swimming pool. After looking into bedrooms and baths numbering somewhere in the high teens, dodging mountains of stone intended for the outer walls and driveway shoring, he pointed out an annex, complete with kitchen and recreation room. “These are, I’m told, the pilot’s quarters.” Apparently the owner had to make that available in each of his homes, so he would always be able to go when and where he wanted, no more extraordinary in this world than a garage or car port is to most of us.
So, owning your own jet, and employing a full-time pilot for it, would probably also be a good marker. This probably led to the most recent skirmish in the BvM war, the weekend after Christmas. Aspen’s airport is carved out of a gently tilting parcel of flatish land 2 miles west of town. Flying in, or out, is aided by the tilt to the land. Within 5 miles, it drops 500 feet, so landing is as much dropping down to meet the runway as it is simply waiting for the land to rise up to meet the plane. Taking off is eased by the same gradient. But that help is needed, as the thin air means less lift is provided to the wings for a given ground speed.
Further, the mountains surrounding the airstrip are often a funnel for storms. During low-pressure cycles in the winter, afternoon snow showers often play havoc with airline schedules. Sardy Field at such times becomes a swirling mass of beleaguered travelers, wondering when or if they will ever be able to leave. To say nothing of the poor souls coming from LA, Denver, Houston, Dallas, and the few other hubs which fly directly our way. So everyone knows, that on snowy days, plane travel can get pretty disrupted.
That’s not supposed to happen when it’s clear and calm. But, on the Saturday after Christmas, there was such a crush of private planes coming into town, that scheduled flights had to be turned away, re-routed to Eagle, Grand Junction, or even told not to take off at all. The Millionaires couldn’t land as the Billionaires, following the FAA’s first-come-first-served rules, clogged the airspace. Hundreds of lives were disrupted. The airport manager and local officials, in response to all the complaints, had to come up with a contingency plan, ready for action should this ever occur again.
So who won that battle?
(to Be Cont’d)