Draft:Craig Hall

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Craig Hall
Born1950 (age 75–76)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
OccupationVintner
Known forHALL Wines
Notable workA Perfect Score (2016)
SpouseKathryn Walt Hall

Craig Hall (born 1950) is an American billionaire businessman and vintner.[1][2] He currently owns HALL Wines in St. Helena, California,[3] as well as the related WALT Wines and BACA Wines labels.[4][5] He is also the founder and chairman of HALL Group, a Dallas-based company that specializes in real estate, winemaking, and other areas.[6][7] Hall is known for developing HALL Park in Frisco, Texas, and the HALL Arts development in the Dallas Arts District.[8][9]

Hall's wife is former United States Ambassador to Austria Kathryn Walt Hall.[5][10]

Early life

Craig Hall was born in 1950 and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He began his career in 1968, when he purchased a rooming house in his hometown.[11]

Career

Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Hall continued to invest in real estate and established Hall Financial Group. Following the 1980s real estate crash, eventually reached an agreement with the Resolution Trust Corporation in 1993 to settle his remaining obligations.[12] During the 1980s, Hall also served as a minority part-owner of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL).[2] In 1995, Craig Hall launched HALL Structured Finance (HSF), a national lending platform.[1]

In the late 1990s, Hall began developing HALL Park, a large 162-acre office and mixed-use campus in Frisco, Texas.[13] His firm also developed the HALL Arts Hotel and HALL Arts Residences in the Dallas Arts District.[14][15] Hall currently owns the Thompson Palm Springs Hotel in Palm Springs, California.[16] In addition, Hall also developed the HALL Park Hotel and the adjacent Kaleidoscope Park within the HALL Park campus in Frisco, Texas. The HALL Park Hotel is a 224-room hotel that is part of Marriott's Autograph Collection,[17] and is situated next to Kaleidoscope Park, a 6-acre public park.[18][19] The HALL Collection of artwork is displayed throughout Craig Hall's developments, including the Kaleidoscope Park and the Texas Sculpture Garden at HALL Park.[20]

In 2007, Hall received the Horatio Alger Award.[21]

Hall is currently an active vintner.[22] He and his wife, former United States Ambassador to Austria Kathryn Walt Hall, own HALL Wines in St. Helena in the Napa Valley,[23][24] as well as the WALT Wines, BACA Wines, and Michel Foch Champagne labels.[25][5] Their St. Helena winery was designed by architect Frank Gehry.[26] Additionally, their holdings include the Walt Ranch vineyard.[27]

HALL Exzellenz Red Wine and the 2013 HALL Rainin Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon were each awarded 100 point scores from Wine Advocate critic Robert Parker in 2010.[28]

During the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, his winery's elaborate subterranean "wine cave" was used to host a fundraiser for Pete Buttigieg.[29][30][31]

Published works

Hall has written seven books about winemaking and business. He and his wife published A Perfect Score: The Art, Soul, and Business of a 21st-Century Winery in 2016.[32] Some of his other books include The Real Estate Turnaround (1980)[33] and News of My Death Was Greatly Exaggerated (1990).[34]

Personal life

He is married to Kathryn Walt Hall. They were introduced to each other by Ann Richards, the Governor of Texas, in 1991.[35]

See also

References

  1. Hall, Cheryl (October 26, 2018). "Dallas billionaire Craig Hall is on a quest to democratize entrepreneurship". Dallas News. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  2. "The Reluctant Entrepreneur". D Magazine. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  3. Cortese, Amy (August 12, 2007), "A Gehry Signature in the Napa Valley", The New York Times, retrieved May 10, 2026
  4. Carter, Kelly E. (February 29, 2016). "Vintners Kathryn Walt Hall and Craig Hall Share Their Haute Secrets to the Napa Valley". Haute Living. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  5. "Making a Splash in Wine Country". The Press Democrat. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  6. "Kathryn Walt Hall of Hall Napa Valley on Wine, Art, and Her Love of Palm Springs". Palm Springs Life. January 27, 2026. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  7. "Leadership". HALL Group. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  8. Ramani, Sandra (February 25, 2020). "Inside the Making of a New Dallas Hotel That Celebrates the Big D". Robb Report. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  9. "HALL Arts Hotel and Residential Tower Will Bring Added Vibrancy to Downtown". D Magazine. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  10. Castellucci, Maria (July 9, 2019). "One On One With Vintner Kathryn Hall". Haute Living. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  11. "Craig Hall Celebrates 50 Years in Real Estate". D Magazine. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  12. "Developer Craig Hall reaches agreement with Resolution Trust Corp". UPI. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  13. "Craig Hall on Why He's Reinventing His Frisco Office Park". D Magazine. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  14. "HALL Arts Hotel and Residential Tower Will Bring Added Vibrancy to Downtown". D Magazine. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  15. Ziots, Megan (February 25, 2025). "A First Look At Frisco's HALL Park Hotel". PaperCity Magazine. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  16. "Kathryn Walt Hall of Hall Napa Valley on Wine, Art, and Her Love of Palm Springs". Palm Springs Life. January 27, 2026. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  17. "HALL Park Hotel, Autograph Collection". Marriott. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  18. "Kaleidoscope Park - Visit Frisco". Visit Frisco. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  19. "Kaleidoscope Park". OJB Landscape Architecture. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  20. "The Art of Collecting: Q&A with Craig Hall". Sculpture. October 16, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  21. "Craig Hall". Horatio Alger. February 6, 2026. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  22. "Wine cave couple made their wealth in real estate". HousingWire. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  23. Fish, Tim (February 8, 2021). "Dogs of California Wine Country: Rocky of Hall Wines". Wine Spectator. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  24. Franson, Paul (April 6, 2026). "Halls completing ambitious winery in St. Helena". The Napa Valley Register. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  25. "Hall, Walt & Baca Wines Taps Winebow Fine Wine & Spirits As New California Distributor". Wine Business. May 1, 2026. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  26. Bonné, Jon (July 27, 2007). "Frank Gehry designs new Hall". SFGATE. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  27. "Court says Napa County's Walt Ranch vineyard project needs more work". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  28. Brunner, Jeryl (October 31, 2016). "One Woman's Journey From Wine Novice To Napa Valley Superstar". Forbes. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  29. Pogash, Carol; Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas (December 21, 2019), "Democrats Sparred Over a Wine Cave Fund-Raiser. Its Billionaire Owner Isn't Pleased.", The New York Times, retrieved May 10, 2026
  30. "Wine cave couple made their wealth in real estate". HousingWire. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  31. Press, Associated (December 21, 2019). "Buttigieg backers defend California 'wine cave' fundraiser". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  32. "A Marriage of Real Estate and Wine". D Magazine. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  33. Hall, Craig (1980). The Real Estate Turnaround. Pearson Education Canada. ISBN 978-0-13-765826-8. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  34. "Real estate syndicator tells the inside story". Tampa Bay Times. October 18, 2005. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  35. Sims, Hilary (March 6, 2020). "Wine & Design: Vacation Vibes with Kathryn & Craig Hall". Wine Spectator. Retrieved May 10, 2026.

Category:Living people Category:1950 births Category:American winemakers Category:Businesspeople from Ann Arbor, Michigan Category:Businesspeople from Dallas