HEDGE FUND GIANT BACON PROVES PERSONAL INTERESTS ARE HIS TOP PRIORITY

This month, Forbes laid out a lengthy exclusive expose on the hedge fund billionaire Louis Bacon.  The timing couldn't have been better for Bacon, who is facing mounting criticism on several fronts for his mysterious and elusive behavior that has teetered on the verge of criminal responsibility on several occasions.  He has been so elusive to the media that Forbes' account (although bias by the standards of several other members of the press who read the feature posted on Forbes' website this month) have carefully dissected the script to learn more about the man who is spreading his wings across the four hemispheres in what appears to be a quest of extensive personal power.   

Louis Bacon

The Forbes article describes 54 year-old Bacon in a larger-than-life manner, titling the report as "Hedge Fund Giant Louis Bacon's Bold Mission To Save The American West".  It's a daring headline that appears to have sought to solidify Bacon's reputation as a conservationist who is willing to use his personal funds to help save massive expanses of land in the western region of the United States.  He is painted as a hero of sorts for the environment, and Forbes provides extensive detail into Bacon's $175 million purchase of Trinchera Ranch, which represented at the time, the most expensive residential sale in US history.  The ranch will be home to a 165,000 acre Sangre de Cristo Conservation area, a mosaic of public and private properties protecting a large area of the Southern Rockies.  

Ironically, Bacon purchased Trinchera from the Forbes family, and the lengthy expose which will be published in Forbes October 8 edition, could not help but be seen as a pat on the back.  What Forbes may not have realized when sitting the ever-elusive Bacon down for an exclusive interview with reporter Monte Burke is that the truth would come out in the plain words of the reporter who had to discern his interviewee for himself. 

Immediately Burke notices how uneasy the hedge fund czar is with the personal interview - an uneasiness which would raise suspicion in any interviewer.  Bacon literally parries away as the reporter places simple questions to him.  Even if Forbes operatives gave him the confidence that the exclusive would benefit his image, it couldn't stop him from feeling uneasy when having to sit face to face with a journalist.  It may be that he feared the reporter may slip in one of the many questions that continue to mount about the bizarre movements of Louis Bacon.  

Instead, the questions are aimed from an environmental standpoint.  For nearly two decades, Bacon served as a professional asset manager, assembling a portfolio of landscapes in New York, North Carolina and Colorado, putting them into conservation easements and permanently saving them from future development.  He settles in to the interview to reveal a quote which sums up his environmental ethic: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”  The Aldo Leopold quote he uses to define his intentions actually makes them quite clear.  If Bacon operates in any way contrary to what Leopold describes, one is indeed "wrong".  It is this very quote that gives the most insight into why the tactics Bacon is executing could be considered wrong as opposed to helpful for the environment as Bacons wants to portray them.  

Anyone who knows Bacon knows he is a wildlife enthusiast, and loves to shoot or bow hunt the healthy herds of elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep and other wildlife that roam the rockies.  As a matter of fact, the boss of Sotheby's Henry Wyndham was recently on a grouse shoot in Scotland organized by Bacon when he was shot in the face and throat and had to receive extensive medical treatment for 52 pellet wounds.  His purchases could be perceived as a billionaire setting up his eternal playground for the benefit of himself, his personal interests and those of his friends - a trump card that would solidify his stem of ownership in the west coast.

Trinchera Ranch a vast expanse of a playground for the wealthy whose pastime climaxes in the success of the hunt.  Forty miles of stream with trout makes it even more of a hunter's paradise. Bacon is managin g the entire property for fish and game.  Don't think that the miles of fence he tore down after making the purchase was for an environmental cause.  Bacon himself admits that the removal of the barriers "enhances the hunt".  His claim that his avid sporting interests makes him a perfect steward of the animals he hunts, but such a view is chided by the likes of environmental groups like PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, despite the major attempts to paint him as an environmental steward.  Reports are that his illustrious friends can pay at least $10,000 to spend a week hunting in one of Bacon's organized shoots.  

Bacon's Bahamian comrade Earl Deveaux

The Forbes reporter points out the obvious kickbacks from the ranch conservation easement as granted by Bacon.  The article states: "Conservation easements offer a neat way for wealthy environmentalists like Bacon to have their cake and eat it, too.  Easements come with some serious breaks on taxes.  The easements are valued by taking the present value of the land, as is, and contrasting that with an appraisal of the land if it were fully developed. The tax break is the difference of the two. It was reported that Bacon got an $8 million tax deduction on his $11 million purchase of Robins. He refuses to divulge what a potential deduction would be on Trinchera, which already has tax credits for its agricultural operation, but says it will be somewhere in the neighborhood of what he spent to save it from the transmission line. Easements also offer another benefit: They will allow him to pass along the land to his children without huge capital gains taxes, because the land, which will never be fully developed, is valued at a lower rate."

So Bacon's personal intentions here are clear, and explains the uneasiness that he approached the interview with Forbes - an uneasiness that made some readers perceive that he has something to hide.  What he may be trying to hide may not be as far away from the eyes of the American press as he thinks.  Florida's southern neighbor, the sunny isles of the Bahamas, became the site of Bacon's Point House a few years ago.  His home in the tropical paradise and his actions with the former government there seem to give the biggest clues in to what the hedge fund king may really be up to - an apparent quest to amass vast amounts of personal wealth under the guise of land protection, which means he can get vast amounts of land at a much cheaper cost and a greater benefit to him, even if he has to share some of it with the government.  That, in some ways, can be an advantage to him.  It is obvious that he has recognized this, as he has already donated large sums to the Republican Party in the US; the Tories party in the UK; and the Free National Movement Party in the Bahamas.  

At Point House, Bacon dredged the shoreline for a secret alcove that he could use to pull up in his sea vessels undetected, and without having to declare anything to the government.  The yacht basin is so secretive that it can only be seen from a boat facing the shoreline, where it becomes apparent that the dock is definitely constructed for maximum privacy.  The problem is, Bacon never thought it necessary to apply for permission from the Bahamas government to dredge the shoreline just like anyone else.  In addition, nothing came out of it when it became public knowledge that he had broken the pristine nation's environmental laws.  Since that was a cinch, it seems Bacon moved on to extend his property by creating what is called, interestingly, an easement.  The only problem is, the easement was build without permission from the Bahamas government, and its construction immediately resulted in several negative effects to his neighbor, Peter Nygard.  It became immediately clear to Nygard's visitors that something was wrong when they approached Nygard Cay and found the face of the entrance totally changed and no longer aesthetically appealing.  The Canadian fashion mogul found that his neighbors illegally built easement caused serious issues when it rains.  The land war,  or the border war as it stands, has yet to be resolved although no documentation exists which permits Bacon to build what he did.  

Bahamian media reports have explained the suspicion that Bacon is also involved in the major Andros Island development Kamalame Cay.  The cay is owned by Brian Hughes, close personal friend of former environment minister Earl Deveaux, who turned a blind eye to several major infractions that happened under his watch by his alleged friends.  Bacon is said to hide out at Kamalame Cay every now and then, and may be involved in the investment qualities of the development.  The problem is, environmentalists have already raised serious concerns as developers have already raped the sea bed in a particular spot where a large nursery for ocean fish existed.  

Deveaux allegedly orchestrated for Bacon to bring his elite friends to the forests of Andros and the recluse of Kamalame Cay to hunt for the precious white crown pigeon and wild boars there.  This idea was dashed and faced harsh criticism e because of the serious political, social, and environmental backlash it potentially had.

This is in stark contrast to the picture Bacon's friends and cohorts attempt to create concerning his philanthropic efforts.  If such efforts were genuine, they should coincide with efforts taking place in other parts of the world where Bacon's interests lie and not be seen as a contradiction in this place or that place, depending on how much power he may feel he is able to wield.

Leopold's muse, the very essence of Bacon's impetus when it comes to his recent philanthropy, is not being adhered to by the hedge fund king in actuality.  The philosopher called for "integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community", principals so brazenly avoided when Bacon frolicked to the sandy archipelago, where he has successfully evaded the press so much so that Point House has been for many months now, up for sale.