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- Meg Whitman sold her 1,500-acre Spring Creek Ranch near Redding for $17.9 million.
- The ranch features over a mile of Fall River frontage and two spring-fed tributaries.
- The listing promoted private trophy trout fishing and premier waterfowl and upland.
Meg Whitman, the billionaire business executive, one-time gubernatorial hopeful and former U.S. diplomat, has sold her sprawling Northern California ranch near Redding for $17.9 million, California Outdoor Properties confirmed.
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Two months ago, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and eBay listed the 1,500-acre Spring Creek Ranch, a marquee holding at the headwaters of the renowned Fall River, for $18.5 million.
Kelly J. Barlow, an American finance executive, investor and conservationist, purchased the ranch through an LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported. California Outdoor Properties represented the buyer, but did not comment on the deal.
Barlow is an avid fly fisherman, the newspaper reported — and that makes sense. Whitman is reportedly a fly fishing enthusiast. And the ranch is considered a prime spot for trout fishing.
“High quality, private trout fishing is likely the single biggest factor that drives value on recreation ranches,” Hall and Hall listing agent Bill McDavid told The Sacramento Bee in April when the property first hit the market.
“In a multi-state area, you’d find only a handful of properties that have this kind of resource,” McDavid said. “This is a true spring creek that rises from the earth on property. The water is as clear as a bottle of gin, and it maintains a very consistent temperature throughout the year providing optimal conditions for growing healthy, large trout.”
The property features over a mile of frontage along Fall River and controls two of the river’s primary spring-fed tributaries — Spring Creek and Lava Creek, according to Hall and Hall.
Fishing is central to the pitch.
“These pristine waters support trophy rainbow trout averaging three to six pounds, with exclusive access for the ranch and its guests,” according to the listing.
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Beyond angling, the ranch is promoted as a prime hunting property along the Pacific Flyway. The listing describes “premier waterfowl and upland bird hunting,” with “lush meadows, riparian wetlands, and forested areas” that attract ducks, geese, deer and raptors, such as bald eagles and peregrine falcons.
The ranch has a comfortable three-bedroom residence overlooking Spring Creek, a custom Airstream fishing camp and barns, shops, and supporting ranch infrastructure.
The ranch also has a working-land component, with “reliable water rights,” according to Hall and Hall. There is about 650 acres of irrigated farmland and pasture, hay production and grazing.
McDavid underscored the ranch’s stature in the region.
“Spring Creek Ranch is one of the two most revered ranches in the Fall River Valley, renowned for its beauty, wildlife, and fishing,” according to a broker’s comment attached to the listing. “For once, it is not an exaggeration to say this is a genuine once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Spring Creek Ranch was co-listed with Terry Hundemer of the Chickering Co.
In 2025, Whitman and her husband, neurosurgeon Griffith Rutherford Harsh IV, sold a penthouse atop downtown Sacramento’s Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in an auction for nearly $2.4 million.
In 2010, Whitman ran unsuccessfully for governor of California. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Kenya from 2022 to 2024. She and her husband have two children.
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