Special Report

This Is the Person Who Owns the Most Land in America

imaginima / E+ via Getty Images

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

mtcurado / iStock via Getty Images

50. D.K. Boyd
> Land area owned: 261,937 acres

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Courtesy of Montana State Legislature

49. Galt Family
> Land area owned: 262,000 acres

Courtesy of The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

48. Four Sixes Ranch
> Land area owned: 266,255 acres

Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

47. Bill Gates
> Land area owned: 268,984 acres

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grandriver / E+ via Getty Images

46. True Family
> Land area owned: 272,000 acres

Courtesy of Oklahoma State University

45. Malone Mitchell 3rd
> Land area owned: 273,000 acres

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42. Babbitt Heirs
> Land area owned: 275,000 acres

ktmoffitt / E+ via Getty Images

42. Jones Family
> Land area owned: 275,000 acres

Courtesy of New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

42. Lee Family
> Land area owned: 275,000 acres

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alejomiranda / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

41. Killam Family
> Land area owned: 277,000 acres

Courtesy of Kokernot o6 Ranch

40. Kokernot Heirs
> Land area owned: 278,000 acres

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Courtesy of University of South Florida

39. Collier Family
> Land area owned: 280,000 acres

imaginima / E+ via Getty Images

38. Fasken Family
> Land area owned: 280,648 acres

abadonian / iStock via Getty Images

37. Walker Heirs
> Land area owned: 284,000 acres

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Courtesy of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

36. Llano Partners
> Land area owned: 284,000 acres

Courtesy of the World Wildlife Fund

35. Bass Family
> Land area owned: 285,000 acres

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marekuliasz / iStock via Getty Images

34. Barta Family
> Land area owned: 286,000 acres

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

33. Collins Family
> Land area owned: 311,380 acres

Courtesy of Utah State Democratic Committee

32. Robinson & Freed Families
> Land area owned: 329,000 acres

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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

31. Mike Smith
> Land area owned: 339,000 acres

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

30. Cullen Heirs
> Land area owned: 388,000 acres

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Courtesy of Texas A&M University

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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Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife

26. Stefan Soloviev
> Land area owned: 398,000 acres

25. Zane & Tanya Kiehne
> Land area owned: 400,000 acres

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Alex Wong / Getty Images News via Getty Images

24. Jeff Bezos
> Land area owned: 420,000 acres

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

23. Fisher Family
> Land area owned: 440,000 acres

Courtesy of University of Idaho

22. Simplot Family
> Land area owned: 443,091 acres

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Goodshoot / Goodshoot via Getty Images

21. Don Horton
> Land area owned: 508,410 acres

The Westervelt Company via Facebook

20. Westervelt Heirs
> Land area owned: 518,000 acres

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Courtesy of Martin Sustainable Resources

19. Martin Family
> Land area owned: 550,000 acres

Stimson Lumber Company via Facebook

18. Stimson Family
> Land area owned: 552,000 acres

Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images

17. Thomas Peterffy
> Land area owned: 581,000 acres

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Bim / E+ via Getty Images

16. O’Connor Heirs
> Land area owned: 587,800 acres

Courtesy of Roseburg Forest Products via Facebook

15. Ford Family
> Land area owned: 600,000 acres

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14. Lykes Heirs
> Land area owned: 615,000 acres

Courtesy of FTS International

13. Wilks Brothers
> Land area owned: 675,000 acres

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

12. Briscoe Family
> Land area owned: 686,000 acres

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mountinez / Getty Images

11. Pingree Heirs
> Land area owned: 830,000 acres

Courtesy of King Ranch via Facebook

10. King Ranch Heirs
> Land area owned: 911,215 acres

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stevecoleimages / Getty Images

9. Singleton Family
> Land area owned: 1,100,000 acres

alexeys / Getty Images

8. Brad Kelly
> Land area owned: 1,139,984 acres

Courtesy of Subway Restaurants

7. Peter Buck
> Land area owned: 1,236,000 acres

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Courtesy of Irving Oil

6. Irving Family
> Land area owned: 1,267,792 acres

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

5. Kroenke Ranches
> Land area owned: 1,627,500 acres

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Ben Rose / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

4. Ted Turner
> Land area owned: 2,000,000 acres

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

3. Reed Family
> Land area owned: 2,100,000 acres

Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images

2. John Malone
> Land area owned: 2,200,000 acres

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milehightraveler / Getty Images

1. Emerson Family
> Land area owned: 2,330,000 acres

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