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To: jim black who wrote (26874)	1/5/2003 1:36:51 PM
From: jim black	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 74559

Now Pezz, and to the thread in general a question totally unrelated to my islamaphobic proclivities and possibly of some interest with the respect to the main reason for the existence of the thread: Like many of you I have gotten myself on the mailing list of various "investment sources," usually ignoring or deleting them when they arrive without even opening them. Occasionally I open stuff from The Daily Reckoning and yesterday I read something intriguing, a reference to 7 companies here in the USA with huge real estate holdings that were kept on the books at their original aquisition price(e.g., $2-3/acre back in the 1800's). Naturally to get the names of the companies I was asked to fork up $US1000 for a subscription. There were several leads however, eg the largest private landowner in TX, the largest ranch in CA, one with massive water rights, the largest landowner in Florida and in Hawaii, both with beach property sounding like what Jay tantalizes us with in quiet place in Asia. I found nothing accessible about the CA ranch or the Hawaiin property owner, but did run down the companies I believe were referred to in TX and in FLA. FLA is St Joe Company but it bears a 76% debt to equity ratio, not for me in these times. The one in TX, my state of origin is a company called Texas Pacific Land Trust. It holds debt free more than a million acres of TX rangeland that has oil and gas royalties as a steady (but also depleting? reserves?)and it leases out the rangeland for fees to run cattle. With a cap of $US 94 million, outstanding shares of ~37 million, earning last year of over $2/share, paying a 1% dividend (paltry)...I calculate the value of ownership of this company at something like holding TX productive rangeland, some next to ElPaso, at owning an acre of land at somewhere close to $92/acre. Now they hold around 19,000 acres outside of El Paso and recently sold a parcel for more than 5 million. None of their properties are actively for sale, but passively so, all of this land and the trust originating from the bankruptcy of a Texas railroad in 1888. It was orininally 3 miion acres then. Since our object here is to make money and conserve what we have I invite any research to be shared about this company, NYSE: TPL, and any info on the other likely companies owning the land in CA and in Hawaii. I can save you the trouble of telling you it was not Dole which is now being taken private by a guy named Murdock (not Rupert). I find it an interesting notion and am impressed that the salesman at Dalily Reckoning found only 7 of these companies. I intend to call tomorrow to inquire of TPL the exact 20 or so counties where the properties are since there is some pretty worthless acreage in West TX I would not give $5/ acre for. TPL does not have a web site. For possible comparison I now live on a 40 acre piece of high desert rangelan in northern CA which I paid 60k for in 1999 and I hae been offered twice that now as the area is catching on. Comments or opinions anyone about these potential investemnt vehicles? See!!, I can post something non-political...see Jay? See Dolinar, see, Pezz, see AC? hahaha good Sunday and good hunting Jim