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Who is Ron Pratt?


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Who is Ron Pratt? I have been on the forum for a couple of months and saw his name pop up several times. It looks like he has a lot of money and likes to buy cars.

I saw him on B-J last night.

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I found this online

 

who is Ron Pratte?

Secretive, for sure. The Chandler, Arizona, man who submitted the $5 million winning bid for Carroll Shelby’s Supersnake Cobra has consistently refused media interviews, including to our editors. But he certainly knows what he wants and has the means to get it via the red-hot housing market in the American Southwest - specifically Phoenix and Scottsdale. As stockjockey over at the underthecounter blog points out, Ron owns Pratte Development Company, Inc., “one of the nation’s largest wood framing and concrete foundation companies.” So he builds houses for a living. In one of the fastest-growing areas of the country.

 

And while many in the car collector hobby know of Pratte mostly from last year’s $4.1 million purchase of the Futurliner bus, he’s no newcomer to the Mustang and Shelby scenes: He also bought the first Shelby GT500 last year for nearly $650,000.

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/01...-is-ron-pratte/

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Only sad thing is his collection is private and every car he buys will never be seen again.

Last night he bought the first production Thunderbird for 600,000

That wasn't the only car he got Jeff Gorden's #24 car for 500,000

 

So true, we were watching the auction last night too and saw him buy the T-bird and my wife asked who he was and I made the same comment that he probably has the nicest collection of cars around, but nobody will ever see them. It is kind of a shame. He should open a museum for his collection.

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His collection is entirely private for now. At some point - he should announce his plans for a public museum. There are not even rumors that I've heard - though The Barrett-Jackson guy Steve Davis? did say something to that effect after Pratte bought one of his cars last nite. So - maybe we can wish he does. If he doesn't - and keeps these cars to himself - I think of Citizen Kane and how he surrounded himself with his riches and had nothing else.

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Only sad thing is his collection is private and every car he buys will never be seen again.

Last night he bought the first production Thunderbird for 600,000

That wasn't the only car he got Jeff Gorden's #24 car for 500,000

 

 

Yes that is the sad part.....Can't see how someone with that kinda money would not start a museum

 

And let the people that can't afford to buy these cars the opportunity to at least view them.

 

Ultra rich people are sometimes selfish I guess.

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Yes that is the sad part.....Can't see how someone with that kinda money would not start a museum

 

And let the people that can't afford to buy these cars the opportunity to at least view them.

 

Ultra rich people are sometimes selfish I guess.

 

 

Being Selfish is how most of them became Ultra rich?????????????? :baby:

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Let's say I had a couple million dollars sitting in the bank. I would have to pay income tax on the interest I collected and thus my overall tax liability would continue to climb.

 

So I decide that I don't want to buy tax free bonds because there're yield is iffy. On the other hand I love cars, I have undisclosed storage facilities so I decide to buy collectable cars and store them out of public view. In a few years I find a buyer through private contacts and I sell a car to someone with lots of cash and even better that person could be out of the US.

 

Now because I'm not very smart myself, do I report the sale of my private car to the IRS officials? When I buy any car and the value goes up when I sell it do I report that as a capital gain?

 

I just don't know what I should do. What would you do?

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Let's say I had a couple million dollars sitting in the bank. I would have to pay income tax on the interest I collected and thus my overall tax liability would continue to climb.

 

So I decide that I don't want to buy tax free bonds because there're yield is iffy. On the other hand I love cars, I have undisclosed storage facilities so I decide to buy collectable cars and store them out of public view. In a few years I find a buyer through private contacts and I sell a car to someone with lots of cash and even better that person could be out of the US.

 

Now because I'm not very smart myself, do I report the sale of my private car to the IRS officials? When I buy any car and the value goes up when I sell it do I report that as a capital gain?

 

I just don't know what I should do. What would you do?

 

 

You report it or eventually go to jail for tax evasion.

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My two cents on Ron Pratte.

 

He reminds me of Otis Chandler. Chandler's family was the publisher of the L.A. Times and during the muscle car boom of the 1980's Otis went around buying the top musclecars of all time. Hemi Cuda verts, Shelbys, COPO Chevy's, Vintage motorcycles, etc. This was in addition to his collection of Dusenburgs, Packards, Allards, etc.

 

This collection of cars were stored here in SoCal and were not available to the public for viewing. Things changed in the 90's when once a year OC would open up his collection for viewing with proceeds going to charity. We can hope that Mr Pratte may someday do the same.

 

In regards to Pratte being secrective all I can say is that he does not have to be at BJ in person to bid. He can have someone else bid or he can bid over the phone/internet so in some way he does enjoy being seen and talked about in my opinion. Basically he wants to be known for what he buys.

 

Steve

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Ron ALWAYS donates to the Darrell Gwynn foundation at the auction. Seems to be very genuine!

 

It just bugs me to see how miserable he is bidding on those cars...

 

 

According to Speed: Life on the Block, he is know as Ron "Poker Face" Pratte haha

 

That guy gave away $600,000 for charities on a saturday night, this guy is a class act, especially just donated to Darrell foundation without bidding on the car.

 

I wish some ppl could be more like this guy.

 

Also he didnt buy the 1st Thunderbird, someone else did.

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According to Speed: Life on the Block, he is know as Ron "Poker Face" Pratte haha

 

That guy gave away $600,000 for charities on a saturday night, this guy is a class act, especially just donated to Darrell foundation without bidding on the car.

 

I wish some ppl could be more like this guy.

 

Also he didnt buy the 1st Thunderbird, someone else did.

Pratt did win that T-bird. http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/2009...for-600000.html

 

Ken

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Yeah he spends a lot of money on cars, but he buys a lot of the charity cars so I do think it's wonderful that there is someone like him to spend money on these cars and the profits going to charity. I'd probably be the same way.

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Yeah he spends a lot of money on cars, but he buys a lot of the charity cars so I do think it's wonderful that there is someone like him to spend money on these cars and the profits going to charity. I'd probably be the same way.

I sure hope I would be this way. I think Mr Pratt is a heck of a guy and maybe one day we can see his collection!!!

 

 

 

MM

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