This means that there is not much to maintain on it unless you want to add your own buildings or other property. In enrolling in Leading Harvest, Cascade has implemented new initiatives on its farmland holdings ranging from adding additional pollinator habitat in Nebraska to planting wildlife-friendly trees on dry pivot corners in Florida to hosting grain bin safety rescue training for the local community in Louisiana to converting numerous diesel power units to electric to reduce carbon output, to name a few, Zheren said. The Microsoft co-founder faced several claims that he owned a majority of Americas farmland earlier this year. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'askbamland_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_9',109,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-askbamland_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); Raw land can be a great way to generate passive income or even spur large profits in the long term (or even short term if you know what you are doing). In north Louisiana, the Gateses investment firm owns about 70,000 acres of land through at least three other shell companies. Arable land is not just profitable. That's basically the motivation there. According to O'Keefe, Gates isn't the only one making moves on the farmland market, especially as farm real estate values nationwide increased 7% from 2020 to $3,390 per acre. In total, Malone owns roughly 2.2million acres of land and has a net worth of around $9.22billion, earning him the nickname the Cable Cowboy.. But why do a handful of people own so much land? And that its going to take big swaths of land, like what Bill Gates has taken, to do that, said Konda Mason, the founder and president of Jubilee Justice and Potlikker Capital, which funds and supports regenerative agriculture projects owned by people of color. A 2014 Wall Street Journal profile of Larson, Cascade's chief investment officer, hinted at the beginning of that portfolio, after the piece noted that the firm owns 'at least 100,000 acres of farmland in California, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana and other states or an area seven times bigger than Manhattan.'. You just have to keep it relatively clean, mow it, and pay property taxes. The average person has nothing in common with mega-landowners like Bill Gates or Ted Turner. Through his subsidiary Mt. One of those farms, Stanley Farms, specialized in Vidalia onions, and another, Coggins Farms, focused on growing carrots. We think we now know. This means that you can find good deals that may be just the thing you are looking for. Investment firms are making the argument farmlands will meet carbon-neutral targets for sustainable investment portfolios while anticipating an increase of agricultural productivity and revenue. He is an assistant professor in the American studies department at the University of New Mexico. Those animals, which are sacred to my people and were nearly hunted to extinction by settlers, are preserved today on nearly 200,000 acres of Turners ranchland within the boundaries of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty territory in the western half of what is now the state of South Dakota, land that was once guaranteed by the US government to be a permanent home for Lakota people. than 85 million single-family homes in the country, and only around 15 million of those are rentals, Of those rentals, less than a third are owned by non-individual investors, according to. An NBC News analysis also identified Gates as the largest farmland owner in the US. Adjusted for inflation, average farm real estate values have generally risen since 1993, growing from less than $1,500 an acre in the mid-90s to over $3,000 an acre in 2020, according to the USDA. He also owns three hotels in Dublin, Ireland, and a fourth in Limerick. So why did the Land Report, Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance. A MAP has revealed which billionaire owns the largest amount of land in the US - youll be shocked to know that it isnt Bill Gates. Our inventory spans five western states. Members of the Stanley family now work for Generations. The value depends on a lot of factors including location, type of land, acreage, supply, demand, and more. Lemmon Holdings, the billionaire spent $80 million to purchase. Gates owns almost 9,000 acres in Ohio, just over 9,000 acres in Indiana, nearly 18,000 in Illinois, but only 552 acres in Iowa. In May, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates revealed in a Twitter statement their decision to end their marriage after 27 years. The principal danger of private farmland owners like Bill Gates is not their professed support of sustainable agriculture often found in philanthropic work its the monopolistic role they play in determining our food systems and land use patterns. Bill Gates may no longer be the world's richest man, but he can claim a new title: America's farmland king. On Friday, a showdown between two of the largest agricultural landowners in the United Statesthe Church of Latter-Day Saints and Bill Gates ' wealth management firmcame . Gates has been buying land like its going out of style. But those working on projects with both investors and farmers to create ecologically sustainable farming methods and support diverse and disadvantaged farming communities say rethinking agriculture and working to avert a climate crisis go hand in hand. False. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Bill Gates, the fourth richest person in the world, currently owns 242,000 acres of farmland, making him the top private farmland owner in America, according to Forbes. Bill Gates owns more private farmland in the US than anyone else, an analysis by The Land Report found. Bill Gates' Land Ownership. The Microsoft co-founder and his former wife, Melinda, are the top farmland owners in. This will always be true, no matter where the land is. It can be used for residential development, commercial projects, industrial zoning, public or semi-public use, agriculture, or right of way (a way for others to access a different piece of land or portion of the land). Gates is now America's largest private farmland owner, with hundreds of thousands of acres spanning across 19 U.S. states, according to the Land Report. The land we all live on should not be the sole property of a few. Bill Gates acquired six parcels of land in Pembina County. Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, has been revealed as the biggest private owner of farmland in the US, after buying up 242,000 acres in 18 states. Buffalo Bill Cody's Ranch in Cody, Wyoming: Undisclosed Sale Price (Listed for $8.9 Million). And Bill Gates new book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster positions himself as a thought leader in how to stop putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and how to fund what he has called elsewhere a global green revolution to help poor farmers mitigate climate change. Bill Gates may no longer be the worlds richest man, but he can claim a new title: Americas farmland king. Farmland in those parts is valuable, commanding prices between $10,000 and $15,000 per acre, far beyond the state average of about $2,000. While land is a limited resource, there is still less competition for raw land than there is with residential and commercial real estate. In 2010 the Gates Foundation Trust invested about $23 million in Monsanto, the genetically modified seed and chemical company, though it sold its shares the next year following outcry from environmental groups. has grabbed headlines in recent days, some prominent voices have taken to social media to claim that some other significant acquisitions by deep-pocketed individuals and corporations have largely flown under the radar. The largest. So why did the Land Report dub him Farmer Bill this year? 4 . Which is where the Bill Gates' Land Ownership interactive map comes in. The land is owned both directly and indirectly by Cascade Investment, the Seattle-area firm that Gates the worlds third-richest man with a net worth of $132 billion, according to Bloomberg set up to manage his massive fortune, according to The Land Report. Weve been trained by experience, land acquisition courses, and hundreds of hours meeting with county assessors and clerks, zoning officials, realtors, and land investors. These shell companies have made it difficult to find out where and how much farmland the Gateses own even for local farmers, like John S. Quarterman, a farmer and landowner who grows okra, corn, squash and other vegetables in Lowndes County on the southern edge of Georgia. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File ), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Land can produce food, fuel, and manufacturing materials as well as provide environmental services, residential spaces, and more. askBAMLand.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. While land is a limited resource, there is still less competition for raw land than there is with residential and commercial real estate. Bill Gates now owns the most farmland of anyone in the United States, according to a recent report from The Land Report . It also offers proven return rates. And we think it will provide good inflation protection in the long run. It just seemed like a good thing to do., 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, A map has revealed which billionaire owns the most land in the US, and it's not Bill Gates, John Malone owns about 2.2million acres of land across the United States, In comparison, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates owns about 270,000 acres of farmland, Malone is worth an estimated $9.22billion, Meet the largest landowner in the US as map reveals stunning amount of land billionaire owns and its not Bill Gates. BlackRock also does not own the majority of the countrys 80 million single-family homes. The billionaire media mogul Ted Turner epitomizes such disparities. The land that Gates owns is located in several states and consists primarily of commercial farmland. We know that one of the best ways to sequester carbon is through the soil. These land holdings are separate from their previous investments in companies that support large-scale farming like Monsanto and the tractor manufacturer John Deere. It is possible to make high double digit returns on land that you bought for an affordable price only a few years prior. Bill and Melinda Gates, who recently announced theyre getting divorced and are dividing their assets, are deeply invested in American agriculture. But farmer advocates say the Gateses large-scale farm purchases dont make room for smaller farmers to break into the market. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates finally revealed the reasons behind his massive purchase of farmland: seed science and biofuel development. Gates and his investment team own more than 240,000 acres, as reported by O'Keefe, including 2,167 acres in Michigan. The report on US Land Ownership ("Land Ownership Report" / 1-21-22) indicates that Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and holder of 45% of its shares, is the main owner of North American land, owner of an area of more than 250,000 acres (101,171.4 hectares) deployed throughout the immense US territory, the fourth in the world in order of . There farmers primarily grow soybeans, rice, corn and cotton. BILL Gates' $80billion property empire now hangs in the balance after he and his wife of 27 years announced they are divorcing. Leading Harvest requires farmland owners to work to continuously improve soil health, biodiversity, and water, air and crop quality on their farms as well as contribute positively to local communities, comply with regulations, and provide a safe and respectful working environment for employees, Zehren said. You may also be interested in why a billionaire wants land.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'askbamland_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_2',102,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-askbamland_com-medrectangle-3-0'); Bill Gates is one of the largest farmland owners in the United States. This map shows that area as a rectangle that can be dragged. For five generations, the Reed Family has owned and operated the logging company Green Diamond Resource Co. What expertise in climate science or agriculture Gates possesses beyond being filthy rich is anyones guess. Last year, Cascade Investment made a second major investment in Arizona by acquiring more than 2,800 acres known as Spurlock Ranch in Buckeye for $25 million, that could be built out to include 8,500 homes. The Microsoft co-founder is considered the largest private owner of farmland in the country with some 269,000 acres across dozens of states, according to last years edition of. The trend worries young farmers who cannot compete with the likes of Bill Gates when buying land, according to Holly Rippon-Butler, a farmer in upstate New York and the land campaigns director at the National Young Farmers Coalition. Real estate mogul and owner of the Los Angeles Rams, Stan Kroenke, owns 1.4 million acres of land in the United States, including a 124,000 acre ranch in Montana and additional land in Wyoming. Renewable energy company Savion has an option to buy the property for what is being called Oak Run Solar Project, according to Madison County property records. , updated The opportunities are virtually endless. This site also participates in other affiliate programs including but not limited to ShareASale, CJ, and ClickBank, and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Stan Kroenke: Land area: 1.4 million acres. Xanadu 2.0 in Medina, Washington: Estimated $140-170 Million, Source: Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times. However, his largest land holdings are in Louisiana (69,071 acres), Arkansas (47,927 acres), Nebraska (20,588 acres . Cascade Investments declined to comment on its interest in acquiring so much American farmland, but a spokesperson for the firm, Charles V. Zehren said it is very supportive of sustainable farming. He pointed out that in 2020, the acreage that Bill Gates firm owns was all enrolled in a sustainability program. That's one of the many takeaways from the 2021 Land Report 100, which is compiled each year by Land Report magazine. According to Forbes, the worlds billionaires saw their wealth swell by $1.9tn in 2020, while more than 22 million US workers (mostly women) lost their jobs. Like wealth, land ownership is becoming concentrated into fewer and fewer hands, resulting in a greater push for monocultures and more intensive industrial farming techniques to generate greater returns. Quarterman guessed that may be because Bill Gates isnt the one doing the farming. Now in its 15th edition, this landmark study tracks the diverse array of farmers, ranchers, forest owners, entrepreneurs, and investors who own at a minimum 243.75 square miles. His first major purchase was Bell Ranch in New Mexico, a 290,100-acre plain saturated with mesas, rimrock canyons, pastures and a bell-shaped mountain. In an interview with CNBC, Malone said that his biggest motivation for purchasing land was preservation and he said he hopes to buy more. Investors bought a record 18.4% of the homes purchased in the fourth quarter of 2021 three-quarters of which were single-family homes. It is unclear how cheap biofuels can be but if they are cheap it can solve the aviation and truck emissions.. Can you imagine having that much property? His firms largest farmland acquisition happened in 2017, when it acquired 61 farming properties from a Canadian investment firm to the tune of $500m. According to the Land Report 100 Research Team, that figure is currently more than twice that amount, which means Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, has an alter ego: Farmer Bill, the guy who owns more farmland than anyone else in America. In addition, he owns 25,750 acres of transitional land and 1,234 acres of recreational land for total land holdings of 268,984 acres. He owns significantly more farmland than Minnesota's Offutt family and California's Resnick family, which each own 190,000 acres and rank second equal on the list. It can be sold as a property (or multiple properties), it can be used to produce things that people buy, or it can be rented out, like much of the farmland in the United States. 07:04 GMT 16 Jan 2021. Right? Gates shares 95% of the ownership with Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Bill Gates is buying up the majority of American farmland and BlackRock is buying the majority of single family houses but Im supposed to believe the biggest threat to us is Elon Musk buying Twitter? read one representative tweet thats been liked or shared on the platform more than 250,000 times. In 2014, Cascade Investments combined both of those companies and the land into Generations Farms, which continued to grow vegetables. Bill Gates owns more private farmland in the US than anyone else, an analysis by The Land Report found.His 242,000 acres of farmland stretch across 18 states Bill Gates owns farmland in 18 states . The company also took to Twitter to reject the false narrative. BlackRock is sometimes confused w/ Blackstone, which owned Invitation Homes. A 6,300-acre farm owned by Bill Gates in Madison County could become the site of one of the nation's largest solar farms. The billionaire tech mogul and philanthropist has quietly amassed nearly 270,000 acres of farmland across the country, but thats still a relatively small slice of the nations nearly 900 million total farm acres. Nick Estes is a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. If you said investment, then you are right. The six-bed Del Mar home, which boasts a ten-person jacuzzi and swimming pool overlooking the ocean, was bought by the couple in late Marchas the international coronavirus pandemic began to take hold. Our era is dominated by the ultra-rich, the climate crisis and a burgeoning green capitalism. If youre looking at what this means for farmers on the ground looking to access land, theres significant competition from nonfarmers, and that really affects young farmers because it means that the price that theyre trying to compete with on the marketplace is driven and determined by people who are not dependent on a farming income, Rippon-Butler said. Seems like there could be a lot to benefit more of their charities by selling some of this off. Land is power, land is wealth, and, more importantly, land is about race and class. You may have heard that Bill Gates owns a lot of land, but you may not know how much. This can potentially earn you tons of money. Bill Gates now owns more farmland than anyone else in the United States, as the tech tycoon has quietly purchased 242,000 acres of farmland in several states across the country. Weve never been one of the big institutional buyers of single family homes, BlackRock said in response to one tweet. With the Washington state acreage and other additions to his portfolio, The Land Report estimates that Gates now owns at least 242,000 acres of American farmland. And in Florida, farmers grow carrots on their property. Today, Bill Gates owns 242,000 acres of farmland in 19 states. That could spell an opportunity for young farmers hoping to get their start, but for savvy investors scrambling for more places to put their money, it also represents an opportunity. Through Sierra Pacific, the family owns some 2 million acres in California and Washington. They accounted for almost 1% of the agricultural land in the United States. CLAIM: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates owns the majority of Americas farmland and the investment firm BlackRock holds the majority of single family houses in the country. And while Bill Gates frets about eating cheeseburgers in his book for the amount of greenhouse gases the meat industry produces largely for the consumption of rich countries his massive carbon footprint has little to do with his personal diet and is not forgivable by simply buying more land to sequester more carbon. The Gates Rancho Santa Fe estate was purchased in 2014 because of its horse stables and proximity to a local race horse track. Bill Gates was also an early investor in fake-meat companies aiming to combat the environmental harms of raising livestock by creating more convincing, plant-based alternatives. Several Properties in Wellington, Florida: $27.2 Million (Total). The Gates Foundation said in a statement that its agriculture efforts do not extend to farming in the U.S. This can be an affordable way to get started with your raw land investments. Data gathered by The Land Report and NBC News show that their land holdings range from 70,000 acres in north Louisiana, where their farmland grows soybeans, corn, cotton and rice, to 20,000 acres in Nebraska, where farmers grow soybeans. While he owns a significant amount, it is a relatively small slice of the nations nearly 900 million total farm acres. He added: 'In addition, the states oldest winery, Chateau Ste. They bought and later sold an additional 6,000 acres in Georgia, NBC News found. This means that you can find good deals that may be just the thing you are looking for. Farmers just aren't owning the assets anymore. As more and more land gets developed, if you own land that is in the path of the plan, you could have buyers offering you big money to take hold of the property. Since it works as an investment for him, it also includes the benefits of using land as an investment like he does. There . He hoped Gates would have invested in different farming techniques that could help turn around the ecological damages from big agriculture. 4. Housecall is the official blog of RISMedia, covering real estate news and information for agents, brokers and their clients. The 65-year-old's largest holdings include 69,071 acres in Louisiana, 47,927 acres in Arkansas,25,750 acres in Arizona, 20,588 acres in Nebraska and16,097 in Washington state. But, As of February 2021, Gates has made headlines across the wor. Malone owns several ranching and real estate businesses predominantly in Maine, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. You can also look at local resources in your area to see where land is being bought or sold. That title goes to John Malone, the former CEO of Tele-Communications Inc, which was purchased by AT&T Inc in 1999 for more than $50billion. Cascade did not immediately respond to a phone message Friday, and the company declined to comment to The Land Report other than to say that Cascade is very supportive of sustainable farming, the outlet said. Apple is ditching more fancy features that just annoyed ev REBNY's new return-to-office gauge paints bright view for 'trophy' towers, Food delivery maven unveils NYC shop after dumping Mercedes mobile kitchens, US home prices just did something they haven't done since 2012, JPMorgan Chase requires some workers give 6 months notice before quitting, This Girl Scout cookie flavor is reselling for $100 online -- here's why, Tom Sandoval breaks silence on Ariana Madix split amid cheating claims, Kelly Osbourne posts first photo of baby son as he hangs out with uncle Jack, Greys Anatomy alum Isaiah Washington retiring from acting: The haters have won, Max Scherzer's first look at the new pitch clock, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce, Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave. While Gates is Americas biggest farmland owner, hes far from being the nations largest landowner in general. The Gates family currently [] Learn more about fact-checking at AP. Starting in 2012, Gates investment firm began buying family farms in South Georgia. With more productive seeds we can avoid deforestation and help Africa deal with the climate difficulty they already face. He never did anything that different from before he got here and what other farmers were doing nearby.". The Microsoft co-founder is considered the largest private owner of farmland in the country with some 269,000 acres across dozens of states, according to last years edition of the Land Report 100, an annual survey of the nations largest landowners. Mason notes that trying to draw hard lines between ones philanthropic work and ones investments does not work. The 1862 Homestead Act opened up 270m acres of Indigenous territory which amounts to 10% of US land for white settlement. That crown belongs to Liberty Media chairman John Malone, who has 2.2 million acres, according to The Land Report. from February that showed there were more than 895 million total acres of farmland in the country last year. Farmland offers a strategy that is completely separated from his other wealth and investments. You can email us at contact@askbamland.com. The acquisition, however . These states include: Arizona - 25,750 acres; Arkansas - 47,927 acres Beach House in Del Mar, California: $43 Million. After all, few can out-bid Bill Gates. In 2018 Gates reportedly bought about 16,000 acres in his home state of Washington, including a 14,500-acre tract in the Horse Heaven Hills region that was purchased for nearly $171 million from an insurance company that had paid $75million for it in 2010. *According to figures compiled by The Land Report in 2019. AP'S ASSESSMENT: False. Not only is it usable by you, but land can be used for so many different things. The billionaire recently came under severe criticism from a fourth-generation farmer in South Georgia for his farmland ownership in the U.S. Will Harris, who owns a 152-year-old family farm named. MINOT, N.D. North Dakotans like to pride themselves on being pro-property rights. Last year, Bill and Melinda purchased a sprawling beachfront 6-bedroom, 4-bath home in Del Mar, Californiaoutside of San Diegofor $43 million. Bill Gates has invested in various high-profile commercial properties through his personal investment company, Cascade. This number stems from last year's edition of . | Photo by Wikimedia Commons . Land holds ample opportunities for growth and development, yet you may find that there is more land than there is competition. This way, the land will remain productive and healthy, while also becoming a money-driving investment. Bill Gates' $13.5 million investment in 2,100 sprawling acres of North Dakota land has raised questions as the purchase coincided with a controversial Chinese company buying 370 acres of. Malone made his fortune as a media tycoon, building the company Tele-Communications, Inc, or TCI, and acting as its CEO before selling it to AT&T for $50 billion in 1999. In 1994 Bill and Melinda Gates are said to have hired Michael Larson to help them diversify their property portfolio. Much of Turner's land is used as grazing land for over 50,000 head of buffalo the largest private herd of bison in the world. Since 2017 he reportedly holds a significant stake in 24,800 acres of land on the west side of Phoenix. We've received your submission. Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, has been revealed as the biggest private owner of farmland in the US, after buying up 242,000 acres in 18 states. Bill and Melindas main residenceand by far their most impressive homeis a massive compound in Medina, Washington nicknamed 'Xanadu 2.0' in a reference to Citizen Kane. of the richest people in the country, owns less than one percent of the nations total farmland. In fact, Gates is the owner of over 270,000 acres of farmland, which is worth over $700 million! Bill and Melinda Gates, who recently announced they're getting divorced and are dividing their assets, are deeply invested in American agriculture. It may even be easier to sell smaller lots than it would be to market the entire portion of land that you invest in. Brittany has been in the land business since 2020 when the world was starting to shut down. Almost 300,000 acres is a lot of land for one family or private individual to own, but it's still just a. Gates portfolio comprises about 242,000 acres of farmland and nearly 27,000 acres of other land across 19 states, according to The Land Report, a magazine for land investors that tracks the nations biggest landowners. Gates is not the only billionaire on The Land Report 's list of top private farmland owners. | Chuck Collins, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Land is power, land is wealth, and, more importantly, land is about race and class. BlackRock also suggested it was being confused for the similarly-named investment management firm Blackstone, which until recently owned Invitation Homes. His 242,000 acres of farmland stretch across 18 states from Washington to Florida,. Although the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is not directly connected with Cascade or its investments, it also has a farmland initiative: Gates Ag One, established in the Greater St. Louis area, with a mission to help 'smallholder farmers adapt to climate change and make food production in low- and middle-income countries more productive, resilient, and sustainable. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times) (Ruth Fremson / The New York Times via Redux Pictures), John Quarterman on his farm in Lowndes County, Ga. (Matt Odom / for NBC News), John Quarterman stands by the Withlacoochee River. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'askbamland_com-box-4','ezslot_4',104,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-askbamland_com-box-4-0'); Well, why would you think that a billionaire would want to own land? Bruere said some states such as Iowa enforce foreign ownership restrictions to prohibit foreign ownership or limit . Private Residence at the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, Montana: Estimated $5-25 Million.