A Reit Mogul In A Fine Mess

To William D. Sanders, home is a parched, windswept New Mexico ranch that extends over 125 square miles beneath the Sangre de Christo mountains--a world away from the clamor of the real estate industry, which in some ways he has dominated for the past 28 years. The white-haired, denim-clad entrepreneur is patrolling his rugged, high-desert spread from the front seat of a white Ford pickup. "What is great about this place," says the Texas native, his drawl erased by decades spent traveling between cities such as Chicago and London, where he erected companies, "is that you can think."

These days Bill Sanders has plenty to think about. His $20 billion real estate empire, the biggest and most complex in the country, is in serious trouble. There's even a risk it might be dismembered.