C-Suite
Owner
Troy Burne Golf Club | Hudson
Clifton Highlands Golf Course | Prescott
Bill Holst was billed in a 2018 Forbes article as the “world’s most successful caviar entrepreneur.” The third-generation Wisconsin corn farmer and owner of a scrapyard business is also a part owner of Hangzhou Qiandaohu Xunlong Sci-Tech Co. Ltd., a caviar-processing company based in China – the largest in the world. According to the Forbes article, Hangzhou controls 30% of the global caviar market, and the company sells its eggs to Michelin-star restaurants in France and New York City.
With a 24% stake in the company, Holst is its largest investor, Forbes said.
Holst’s path to caviar entrepreneurship was winding and included a stint owning quarries in Wisconsin, the sale of which allowed him to purchase a then-bankrupt sturgeon farm in Hungary. He then bought a bankrupt German caviar company, which he renamed Desietra and helped turn profitable within a few years. That venture led him to the opportunity to launch Hangzhou.
This year, in Wisconsin, Holst purchased Troy Burne Golf Club in Hudson for an undisclosed price. The course, which was designed by architects Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry and design consultant Tom Lehman, was listed for $7.5 million at the beginning of the year. It has been ranked on multiple best course lists nationally. Holst now owns four other golf courses: Clifton Highlands Golf Course in Prescott, Wisconsin; and Gopher Hills Golf Course, Lake City Golf Club and Red Wing Golf Course, all in Minnesota.
