Wealth
He Paid $1.50 an Acre for Barren Texas Land Now Worth $7 Billion
The Fasken heirs own land in the heart of the Permian Basin.
Pump jacks outside Midland, Texas.
Photographer: Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times via ReduxSo much of the Permian Basin is under production that the lights glowing at night, on well pads and rigs and double-wide trailers, make the place look in NASA satellite photos like a giant Lite Brite. But there’s a spot where the Permian dims.
It’s a big one, covering more than 250 square miles and loaded with enough oil and gas that it could, by some estimates, fetch $7 billion. In an era where everything in the basin seems to be for sale, though, the Fasken ranch isn’t. The owners have no interest. They don’t even want to drill very much.