We've all entertained the billionaire fantasy—you know, imagining the paradise to which we'd jet off if we had an endless cash flow. Sir James Goldsmith, an English-French billionaire, was one of the lucky few who had the means to actually create a paradise just as he envisioned it. In the 1980s, the financier turned environmentalist (he had a green epiphany late in life) bought two properties in Mexico—the 2,000-acre Cuixmala, on the Pacific coast near Manzanillo, and the 4,000-acre Hacienda de San Antonio inland—and turned them into swank yet ecologically responsible retreats for himself and his families (he had three). Think back-to-basics, but with a killer pool.
At both properties, Goldsmith planted organic farms and brought in livestock so he could have high-quality food; at Cuixmala, he also established a wildlife-protection program. After he passed away in 1997, his equally eco-minded heirs opened the estates to guests. So now other families can experience the world according to Goldsmith—one that's a little Jane Goodall and a little James Bond.
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