When it comes to privately-owned land, most people would consider farms and ranches as large. But some ranches are far larger than others. Some people may have heard of the King Ranch in Texas, which covers 825,000 acres, or about the size of Rhode Island. However, even this ranch is not the largest, and some of America’s largest landowners own even more land. The family who owns the most land in America is the Emmerson Family.
If the nation’s private land were divided among the current population of the United States, each person would own about 4.19 acres. Of course, not everyone has the money or desire to invest in rural landholdings. While over 44 million households rent (rather than own) their homes, other individuals, families, and heirs own hundreds of thousands of acres.
To determine the largest landowner in the United States, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from The Land Report magazine’s 2021 Land Report 100. The report’s estimates are based on information from other published reports, online databases, tax records, and information provided by various landowners, and they include only rural landholdings. Ownership must be deeded, not leased. Note that some of these landowners also lease significant tracts of pastureland from the federal government.
Many of the largest holdings are ranch land or timberland in the Southwest and on the West Coast. Accordingly, many of the large landowners own property in the ranching or forestry business, while some are also oil company owners or media or entertainment moguls. Almost no land in the Midwest or Northeast belongs to America’s major landowners, with the notable exception of forests in northern Maine. (This is the city in every state with the most billionaires.)
The largest landholder in America is the Emmerson Family, owners of the California-based lumber company Sierra Pacific Industries. In 2021, they acquired 175,000 acres in Oregon from Seneca Jones Timber. This raised the family’s holdings to 2.33 million acres.
No. 2 on the list is Liberty Media Chair John Malone, who owns 2.2 million acres of ranch and timber holdings, while third is the Reed family, who own a Washington-based forest products company with land holdings in California, Oregon, and Washington. (These are the richest Americans of all time.)
Click here to see which people own the most land in America
50. D.K. Boyd
> Land area owned: 261,937 acres
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49. Galt Family
> Land area owned: 262,000 acres
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48. Four Sixes Ranch
> Land area owned: 266,255 acres
47. Bill Gates
> Land area owned: 268,984 acres
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46. True Family
> Land area owned: 272,000 acres
45. Malone Mitchell 3rd
> Land area owned: 273,000 acres
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42. Babbitt Heirs
> Land area owned: 275,000 acres
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42. Jones Family
> Land area owned: 275,000 acres
42. Lee Family
> Land area owned: 275,000 acres
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41. Killam Family
> Land area owned: 277,000 acres
40. Kokernot Heirs
> Land area owned: 278,000 acres
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39. Collier Family
> Land area owned: 280,000 acres
38. Fasken Family
> Land area owned: 280,648 acres
37. Walker Heirs
> Land area owned: 284,000 acres
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36. Llano Partners
> Land area owned: 284,000 acres
35. Bass Family
> Land area owned: 285,000 acres
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34. Barta Family
> Land area owned: 286,000 acres
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33. Collins Family
> Land area owned: 311,380 acres
32. Robinson & Freed Families
> Land area owned: 329,000 acres
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31. Mike Smith
> Land area owned: 339,000 acres
30. Cullen Heirs
> Land area owned: 388,000 acres
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29. Hughes Family
> Land area owned: 395,000 acres
28. Holding Family
> Land area owned: 395,030 acres
27. Shannon Kizer
> Land area owned: 397,000 acres
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26. Stefan Soloviev
> Land area owned: 398,000 acres
25. Zane & Tanya Kiehne
> Land area owned: 400,000 acres
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24. Jeff Bezos
> Land area owned: 420,000 acres
23. Fisher Family
> Land area owned: 440,000 acres
22. Simplot Family
> Land area owned: 443,091 acres
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21. Don Horton
> Land area owned: 508,410 acres
20. Westervelt Heirs
> Land area owned: 518,000 acres
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19. Martin Family
> Land area owned: 550,000 acres
18. Stimson Family
> Land area owned: 552,000 acres
17. Thomas Peterffy
> Land area owned: 581,000 acres
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16. O’Connor Heirs
> Land area owned: 587,800 acres
15. Ford Family
> Land area owned: 600,000 acres
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14. Lykes Heirs
> Land area owned: 615,000 acres
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13. Wilks Brothers
> Land area owned: 675,000 acres
12. Briscoe Family
> Land area owned: 686,000 acres
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11. Pingree Heirs
> Land area owned: 830,000 acres
10. King Ranch Heirs
> Land area owned: 911,215 acres
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9. Singleton Family
> Land area owned: 1,100,000 acres
8. Brad Kelly
> Land area owned: 1,139,984 acres
7. Peter Buck
> Land area owned: 1,236,000 acres
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6. Irving Family
> Land area owned: 1,267,792 acres
5. Kroenke Ranches
> Land area owned: 1,627,500 acres
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4. Ted Turner
> Land area owned: 2,000,000 acres
3. Reed Family
> Land area owned: 2,100,000 acres
2. John Malone
> Land area owned: 2,200,000 acres
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1. Emerson Family
> Land area owned: 2,330,000 acres
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