Back during the '80s, Kim Basinger became one of the most famous performers in the world. She was cranking out one hit movie after the next, earning a massive salary. Basinger, who had previously been with Alec Baldwin, used her time as a Bond Girl and inBatmanwisely, and she would go on to do some interesting things with her money.
In a story that many people seem to have forgotten about, there was a time when Kim Basinger helped buy a city down in Georgia. This, in recent years, would have a hand in creating the seriesSchitt’s Creek, and the details of this story remain just as interesting as ever. Some stars buy islands, but almost none ever even consider buying a town.
So, what in the world happened with Kim Basinger dropping millions of dollars to buy a town? Let’s examine this unique but of Hollywood history!
The Town In Question
In 1989, Kim Basinger was one of the brightest stars in the world, and the actress was looking for ways to increase her wealth. In what remains one of the strangest purchases in history, Kim would use millions in cash to purchase Braselton, Georgia.
Resting north of Atlanta in the South, Braselton is a town the virtually no one has heard of. At the time of purchase, there were only about 500 people living there. Basinger, a Georgia native spent months in negotiations with the town.
Desertwould cover this story, saying, “Henry Braselton, grandson of the town's founder, said his family agreed to sell all of the commercial property and some private homes in this small north Georgia town about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta. About 500 people live in the town.”
Now, it is interesting to see such a massive star take interest in such a small place. A town with 500 people in rural Georgia is not going to generate much interest from any person, and people were left completely speechless when Kim was talking about buying the town.
Once the finer details of the sale were announced, Kim Basinger had some big things in mind for Brasleton. This, however, is where things would get interesting.
Basinger Saves The Day
The itty bitty town of Braselton, Georgia was making national headlines for perhaps the first time ever when Kim Basinger was trying to make a splash purchase. Months of negotiations and $20 million later, Kim Basinger had herself a town.
According toCheat Sheet, “Basinger saw the purchase as an investment. She was planning on putting some kind of attraction on the land. Maybe a movie studio, or a theme park. Neither of those materialized, however.”
This is a bold move by Basinger, as the microscopic town had nothing going for it. She clearly must have felt like other people would have been willing to jump on board, but things would take a negative turn for Basinger down the line.
It is common to see celebrities make sizable investments in things that could potentially pay off down the line. If Kim was planning on turning the place into a tourist attraction, then we can see why she would make such a bold move.
Given that she snagged up the commercial property, building the town up would have increased its value dramatically, making her net worth skyrocket in the process. As time would go on, it was soon clear that this was a bad idea.
What Ended Up Happening
Braselton, Georgia was in the headlines thanks to Kim Basinger, but in no time at all, the place was once again forgotten about. Not just by the media, but by Kim and other investors that had ties to the town.
Things slowed down to a creep, and there was a sense of dread that nothing was going to happen in Braselton.
Kim’s brother who was in on the investment was asked about developing the town, and he would say, “Maybe we will and maybe we won’t. Hell, I don’t know.''
This was an omen that nothing good was coming of the deal, and according toAmarillo, she began to sell off parts of the town in the '90s. This splash purchase that carried dreams of turning a town around blew up before it even started, and it remains an interesting footnote in poor Hollywood decisions.
According to the most recent census, there are nearly 13,000 people in Braselton now, and we like to think that most of them forgot about the entire debacle with Kim Basinger. Fortunately for her, she would get to move on from the incident and continue to land projects in the industry.
Kim Basinger dropping $20 million on a town in rural Georgia will forever remain a puzzling decision. We can only hope that no one else tries something like this in the future.
