Chevrolet Corvette. After high school, Rhodes moved to Idaho, where he worked at a ski resort and lost much of his money. He returned to Las Vegas in 1977. Leonard had been disappointed with his son's life choices and forced him to move out. Jim Rhodes sold his Corvette for $4,200 and hoped to acquire wealth through blackjack betting at the Mint casino, but lost most of his money. He subsequently moved in with a friend and used a bicycle as transportation, working odd jobs as a laborer. Career Rhodes soon began framing houses in Las Vegas, and started a subcontracting firm a few months after moving out of his father's home. By the age of 21, he had a crew of approximately 100 people and earned up to $100,000 a year. In 1984, Rhodes became a contractor and started building his own houses. He founded Rhodes Homes in 1985, and served as its president. He also held the position of chief executive officer for 21 years. Rhodes Companies was founded in 1988. Three years later, Jim Rhodes purchased property in southwest Las Vegas and built the Spanish Hills community on the land. Other residential communities followed thereafter. In the mid-1990s, Rhodes Homes built Palm Gardens and Elkhorn Springs, located respectively in the southeast and northwest Las Vegas Valley. Two other projects, Palm Canyon and Palm Hills, were built at the base of Black Mountain in Henderson, Nevada. In 1996, he proposed a residential project known as Rhodes Ranch in the southwest Las Vegas Valley. The project proceeded despite opposition from residents in what was then a rural area. Rhodes Ranch opened in 1997. It includes a golf course designed by Ted Robinson. Rhodes Ranch is Rhodes' signature project, and it later became one of the most successful master-planned communities in the Las Vegas Valley. Another prominent project is Henderson's Tuscany Village, originally proposed by Rhodes in the 1990s as Palm City. The site for Palm City was located near sewage ponds and a longtime manufacturer of chemicals which had contaminated the land. Ground water was also found to have high radioactive levels, but Rhodes Design and Development Corporation planned to proceed with the project, as local officials had yet to declare a health concern. Nearby residents were concerned about the presence of chemicals, as well as the size of Palm City and the increased traffic that the project would