The largest landowners in America have acquired millions of acres of land just in 2022 alone. Whether buying or selling, exploring new markets, and even purchasing inholdings (land privately owned inside national parks, forests, or state parks), these landowners have amassed quite a bit of acreage. But which one can lay claim to the most property?
While there have been allegations that Chinese entities were buying U.S. farmland at an alarming rate, a recent NBC News review of documents filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that in the past year and a half (since the start of 2022), Chinese entities had purchased only 1,400 acres — about 2.2 square miles — in 35 states in a country with 1.3 billion acres of agricultural land. (Also see states with the most diverse landscapes.)
Similar fear-mongering began to surface last year surrounding multi-billionaire Bill Gates. Whispers on social media spread, stating that the Microsoft cofounder was buying up the majority of American farmland, a claim that was quickly debunked. While Gates is indeed a major investor in farmland, as news organizations pointed out, he owned 269,000 acres in 2021 or about 0.03% of the nation’s total.
Currently, Gates is estimated to own a little more of this land — 275,000 acres, according to The Land Report magazine’s 2022 Land Report 100 reviewed by 24/7 Wall St. He may be among the largest single private owners of U.S. land used for farming, grazing, timber harvesting, wildlife conservation, or other purposes, but he is nowhere near the top of the list. The top 10 biggest private U.S. landowners’ acreage far exceeds those owned by Gates.
Based on information from published reports, online databases, tax records, and information provided by various landowners, It has been determined who the 50 biggest landowners are. They include only rural land holdings, and to make the list, ownership must be deeded, not leased. Some of these landowners also lease significant tracts of pastureland from the federal government. (This is how much land the government owns in every state and what it’s used for.)
Here are the largest landowners in America.
50. D.K. Boyd
- U.S. land holdings: 261,937 acres
49. Galt Family
- U.S. land holdings: 262,000 acres
48. Taylor Sheridan
- U.S. land holdings: 266,255 acres
47. Benjy Griffith III
- U.S. land holdings: 269,000 acres
46. True Family
- U.S. land holdings: 272,000 acres
45. Malone Mitchell 3rd
- U.S. land holdings: 273,000 acres
44. Lee Family
- U.S. land holdings: 275,000 acres
43. Jones Family
- U.S. land holdings: 275,000 acres
42. Babbitt Heirs
- U.S. land holdings: 275,000 acres
41. Bill Gates
- U.S. land holdings: 275,000 acres
40. Kokernot Heirs
- U.S. land holdings: 278,000 acres
39. Cogdell Family
- U.S. land holdings: 282,000 acres
38. Llano Partners
- U.S. land holdings: 284,000 acres
37. Fasken Family
- U.S. land holdings: 284,493 acres
36. Bass Family
- U.S. land holdings: 265,000 acres
35. Killam Family
- U.S. land holdings: 312,000 acres
34. Barta Family
- U.S. land holdings: 315,000 acres
33. Robinson & Freed
- U.S. land holdings: 350,000 acres
32. Mike Smith
- U.S. land holdings: 351,000 acres
31. Collins Family
- U.S. land holdings: 370,000 acres
30. Cullen Heirs
- U.S. land holdings: 388,000 acres
29. Hughes Family
- U.S. land holdings: 390,000 acres
28. Holding Family
- U.S. land holdings: 395,000 acres
27. Shannon Kizer
- U.S. land holdings: 397,000 acres
26. Stefan Soloviev
- U.S. land holdings: 408,000 acres
25. Zane & Tanya Kiehne
- U.S. land holdings: 414,000 acres
24. Jeff Bezos
- U.S. land holdings: 420,000 acres
23. Fisher Family
- U.S. land holdings: 440,000 acres
22. Simplot Family
- U.S. land holdings: 443,000 acres
21. Don Horton
- U.S. land holdings: 508,410 acres
20. Martin Family
- U.S. land holdings: 950,000 acres
19. Stimson Family
- U.S. land holdings: 552,000 acres
18. Westervelt Heirs
- U.S. land holdings: 556,000 acres
17. Thomas Peterffy
- U.S. land holdings: 581,000 acres
16. O’Connor Heirs
- U.S. land holdings: 587,800 acres
15. Ford Family
- U.S. land holdings: 600,000 acres
14. Lykes Heirs
- U.S. land holdings: 615,000 acres
13. Wilks Brothers
- U.S. land holdings: 675,000 acres
12. Briscoe Family
- U.S. land holdings: 738,000 acres
11. Pingree Heirs
- U.S. land holdings: 830,000 acres
10. King Ranch Heirs
- U.S. land holdings: 911,215 acres
9. Brad Kelley
- U.S. land holdings: 1,000,000 acres
8. Singleton Family
- U.S. land holdings: 1,100,000 acres
7. Buck Family
- U.S. land holdings: 1,236,000 acres
6. Irving Family
- U.S. land holdings: 1,267,792 acres
5. Stan Kroenke
- U.S. land holdings: 1,627,500 acres
4. Reed Family
- U.S. land holdings: 1,661,000 acres
3. Ted Turner
- U.S. land holdings: 2,000,000 acres
2. John Malone
- U.S. land holdings: 2,200,000 acres
1. Emmerson Family
- U.S. land holdings: 2,411,000 acres
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