Charif Souki

Charif Souki was the owner of numerous properties in Aspen Colorado and accumulated a fortune in the natural gas industry. Souki co-founded the Houston-based natural gas company Tellurian with Martin Houston in 2016. Souki bought Aspen Valley Ranch for $27 million in 2013, later developing the 800-plus acres of land with luxury residences. In May 2020 he announced it was listed for sale with an asking price of $220 million. Souki also opened Mezzaluna restaurants in Los Angeles and Aspen (which he no longer owns), and owns various commercial properties in downtown Aspen. Souki and investors bought the mostly undeveloped ranch for $27 million in 2013. The Two controlled entities by Souki, including one that owns Aspen Valley Ranch, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Houston on July 27 2023, one day before a foreclosure hearing was scheduled in Pitkin County District Court. The bankruptcy put the foreclosure proceedings on hold, which were initiated by the lenders, in Pitkin County. Two ranch homes on the ranch individually sold in 2021 were not part of the bankruptcy auction. In 2023, the lending group claimed and sold 25 million shares Souki owned in the company stock of Tellurian, a Houston-based, publicly-traded liquified natural gas company he founded in 2016. Souki, considered a trailblazer in the LNG industry, also pledged those shares as collateral, but the lenders rushed them out for sale below $2 a share starting in February, Souki’s lawyers previously argued. In December 2023, Tellurian terminated Souki from his executive chairman position, the Wall Street Journal reported. Souki also resigned from his board seat. Souki bought Aspen Valley Ranch for $27 million in 2013, later developing the 800-plus acres of land with luxury residences. In May 2020 he announced it was listed for sale with an asking price of $220 million. Souki also opened Mezzaluna restaurants in Los Angeles and Aspen (which he no longer owns), and owns various commercial properties in downtown Aspen.