Rich and getting richer as Forbes play tax games with family ranch

His children plan to raise US$70 million ($101.8 million) by selling access to the ranch so capitalists can commune with black bears, coyotes and mountain lions.

The Forbes siblings have given up their right to develop about half the ranch's 69,363 hectares near Fort Garland, Colorado, qualifying for conservation-land tax breaks.

Documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission show they have also created a company, Forbes Trinchera Ranch, to sell stakes granting ranch access.

The easement lets multi-millionaires build 930 square-metre mansions that can serve as base camps for hunting elk and bighorn sheep. The family, while managing an estimated US$1 billion inheritance, join western landowners in using conservation easements to cut taxes as land values soar.

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