Netflix Co-Founder Reveals Why He Bought Powder Mountain in New Interview

“I loved this place,” Reed Hastings, the Netflix co-founder who became the majority owner of Utah’s Powder Mountain in 2023, said.

He was talking to the journalist Graham Bensinger on the show In Depth. They were discussing how Hastings had gone from an internet business to snow sports.

Hastings explained that after over two decades with Netflix, Powder Mountain was “sort of” his rebound business.

“Imagine you’re in a 25-year marriage, like I was with Netflix, and then suddenly you’re cast out, you’re free,” Hastings said.

But Bensinger pushed him. Surely, a guy like Hastings with executive chops had other offers?

That prompted the love comment. 

“I love it still,” Hastings continued, describing Powder Mountain. “I could do something impactful that I cared about. Something totally different than Netflix.”

He noted that he and his wife used to ski at Park City, but they found it crowded. When they discovered Powder Mountain, they were hooked. “We came out here, and it was just peaceful, serene,” he told Bensinger. “Getting fresh powder is a drug, and once you taste it, you kind of just want more and more.”

Tap below to watch the full interview. Keep reading for our breakdown.

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Under Hastings, Powder Mountain carved a new, unique path. Soon after taking an ownership stake, he announced, in a letter to locals, that part of the ski resort’s piste would be reserved for homeowners in the Powder Haven community. 

The move, Hastings wrote, would help fund lifts and lodges for everyone while keeping Powder Mountain uncrowded. When Hastings bought it, the ski area wasn’t making money. 

“Sadly, Powder has been struggling financially,” he wrote, adding that, “in order to pay our bills, we need to sell more real estate.”

Cordoning off some of the slopes has proven, at times, controversial—many in the ski community remain unreceptive to the idea of private skiing. Near Lake Tahoe, the idea of Homewood Mountain Resort transforming into a private ski area recently saw fierce pushback.

Hastings has, so far, made good on the idea that public skiing would expand alongside Powder Haven. Several public lifts have been upgraded, and next winter, a new chair accessing the Don’t Mention It, or DMI, area is set to open.

In the interview, Bensinger said that some articles suggested Hastings’ approach could be used to change the ski industry. He wanted to know what Hastings’ goals with Powder Mountain were.

“I think there will be more private skiing, paralleling—kind of—private golf courses,” said Hastings. “But the bulk of golf courses, about 20,000, are public. And the bulk of ski areas are public.”

As for Powder Mountain, he said, “It’s one sector of the market that I think will grow. And in that way, it’s a model for sharing, kind of, one set of infrastructure, and bringing costs down for both sides.”

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