THE DEAL: Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has sold a 1,530-acre Fall River Mills, Calif., ranch with private fishing for $17.9 million, two months after listing it for $18.5 million.
THE BUYER: California investor Kelly J. Barlow purchased the ranch through an LLC, property records show. An avid fly fisherman, he is board chair of California Trout, a conservation nonprofit, according to the organization’s website. He didn’t respond to requests for comment.
THE SELLER: Whitman is a former CEO of eBay and Hewlett-Packard, now HP. She and her husband, neurosurgeon Dr. Griff Harsh, bought Spring Creek Ranch for about $12.6 million in 2019, property records show. They paid $3 million for an additional 57 acres nearby in 2023. After moving to Telluride, Colo., in 2020, the couple put the ranch on the market in April. Whitman confirmed the sale but declined to comment further.
Meg Whitman, left, and her husband, Dr. Griff HarshDrew Angerer/Getty Images
THE SPECS: Located in the Fall River Valley, about 230 miles north of Sacramento, the ranch has multiple structures, including a main residence, a barn and several outbuildings. Spring Creek Ranch also has a custom Airstream fishing camp and sought-after access to the Fall River. Spring Creek, one of the river’s major headwaters, runs through the property.
The Airstream camp was added by a previous owner. Hall and Hall
THE MARKET: The ranch market, which took off during Covid as buyers fled cities, has been “pretty steady,” said Todd Renfrew of California Outdoor Properties, who represented the buyer. “There’s always something trading hands.” Spring Creek Ranch’s private fishing made the property extremely attractive, he said.
Terry Hundemer of the Chickering Company and Bill McDavid of Hall and Hall had the listing. They declined to comment.
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