The LandReport, a magazine that provides news and insight on America's landowners, recently estimated that Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the largest farmland owner in the U.S., owning about 242,000 acres. And the firm said its very supportive of sustainable farming. So what is this guy planning? Weve been trained by experience, land acquisition courses, and hundreds of hours meeting with county assessors and clerks, zoning officials, realtors, and land investors. We think we now know. In 2009, the Gates' reportedly purchased a ranch in Wyoming that once belonged to Buffalo Bill Cody. This is part of APs effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. According to the Tri-City Herald, 14,500 acres of Eastern Washington farmland was recently sold to the couple for almost $171 millionthats nearly $12,000 an acre. He backed Impossible Foods, which relies on genetically modified soybeans, and also held shares of Beyond Meat through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, though SEC filings show those shares were sold in 2019. Back in January, US magazine The Land Report revealed that Bill and Melinda Gates have amassed the largest portfolio of private farmland in the US, comprising an estimated 242,000 acres. And in Florida, farmers grow carrots on their 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. That crown belongs to Liberty Media chairman John Malone, who has 2.2 million acres, according to The Land Report. In Washington, the Gateses own more than 14,000 acres of farmland that includes potato fields so massive that they are visible from space and some of which are processed into french fries for McDonalds. According to the Land Report 100 Research Team, that figure is currently more than twice that amount, which means Bill Gates, cofounder of Microsoft, has an alter ego: Farmer Bill, the guy who owns more farmland than anyone else in America. Gates shares ownership with Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talalthe two purchased the chain in 2007 for $3.8 billion. The 14,000 acres in Washington is used for potatoes and in Florida the land is used for carrots. | 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. 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The private residential area is home to numerous A-list celebrity couples including Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel. buying an increasing share of the U.S. housing market. THE FACTS: As Elon Musks bid to purchase Twitter 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 billionaire knows best mentality detracts from the deep-seated realities of colonialism and white supremacy, and it ignores those who actually know best how to use and live with the land. Where Does Bill Gates Own Farmland in the US. But Zehren of Cascade noted that the firm has been working in Florida and elsewhere to promote ecologically conscious agriculture and that it plans to continue to evaluate its farmland portfolio to improve its overall sustainability. *According to figures compiled by The Land Report in 2019. The land we all live on should not be the sole property of a few. Michelle, has two of its largest vineyards in that AVA: Canoe Ridge Vineyard and Columbia Crest Vineyard. They accounted for almost 1% of the agricultural land in the United States. Almost 300,000 acres is a lot of land for one family or private individual to own, but it's still just a. The tech mogul, who is the. 07:04 GMT 16 Jan 2021. Malone owns several ranching and real estate businesses predominantly in Maine, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. In fact it is so big that it is a little hard to conceptualize. There are also ways to generate passive income on the land without selling it because you can lease the land or sell the mineral rights, among other methods. The average person has nothing in common with mega-landowners like Bill Gates or Ted Turner. The Gates family currently [] | Photo by Wikimedia Commons . Wealth accumulation always goes hand-in-hand with exploitation and dispossession. The price makes this one of the most expensive home sales in this part of California ever. Lots of articles on this are full of "4D chess" speculations about climate change blah blah, but the real reason for this seems to be very simple: "just to collect rent." It also allows you to keep a portion of the land for personal use so you do not have to give up your weekend home or relaxation property. More surprising, however, was the fact that Bill and Melinda Gates own more private farmland . 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). Dr. Alan Busacca, professor emeritus at Washington State University, told Land Report at the time that the fertile land in the area was used for growing 'apples, cherries, carrots, dryland and irrigated wheat, and row and field crops'. Of those rentals, less than a third are owned by non-individual investors, according to a 2022 report by Harvard Universitys Joint Center for Housing Studies. The biggest chunks of Gates holdings are in Louisiana and Arkansas, where he owns 69,071 acres and 47,927 acres, respectively, the outlets research found. NBC News also found that another 6,500 acres in north Florida are owned by yet another company, Suwannee River Terra, which was also started with an address in Kirkland and an email address from the Bill and Melinda Gates Investment Firm, which is now registered to the current chief counsel of Oak River Farms with a mailing address in Kansas, according to property records. And we think it will provide good inflation protection in the long run. Land holds ample opportunities for growth and development, yet you may find that there is more land than there is competition. BlackRock also does not own the majority of the countrys 80 million single-family homes. They bought and later sold an additional 6,000 acres in Georgia, NBC News found. The agency further found that over 50 percent of cropland is rented to farmers who dont own their land. We loved familys outdoor adventures so much we started a land business just to help others buy their own land. Its uncertain why Gates has invested in so much farmland or how his tracts are currently being used. The family's 1.7 million acres of land are primarily spread across Washington, Oregon, and California. That makes Invitation Homes the, largest operator of single-family rental homes in the country, but still represents, BlackRock also suggested it was being confused for the similarly-named i. nvestment management firm Blackstone, which until recently owned Invitation Homes. 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. Financial titans like Prudential and Hancock have divisions specifically for investors looking to make money on farmland portfolios. It also offers proven return rates. Another 5,500 acres was sold to Generation Land Georgia, a company that shares an address with Miami-based Optimum Agriculture, which bought Generations Farms in 2019. But a Gates spokesperson said in a statement on Friday that the claim that hes bought the majority of the nations farmland is false, pointing to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report from February that showed there were more than 895 million total acres of farmland in the country last year. 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. Here is an overview of all of the property the couple owned together at the time of their divorce: Bill and Melinda dont publicly discuss this topic often, but they are the top owners of farmland in the U.S. With some 242,000 acres, the estimated value of their farmland is in the billions. Through our professional experience in land acquisition, we have found that people buy and sell land for many different reasons and have learned that it can be an investment for profit, vacation, or any opportunity that suits your needs and desires. In an interview with CNBC, Malone said that his biggest motivation for purchasing land was preservation and he said he hopes to buy more. The project is in its early . Gates' achievement, according to the report, is that he's largest private owner of farmland in the US. 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.. The opportunities are virtually endless. Renewable energy company Savion has an option to buy the property for what . While most people do not have the ability to buy hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland like Bill Gates, anybody can look at land as an investment opportunity to take advantage of. 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. Bill Gates' Land Ownership. BlackRock also suggested it was being confused for the similarly-named investment management firm Blackstone, which until recently owned Invitation Homes. To put that into perspective, thats nearly the size of Hong Kong and twice the acreage of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, where Im an enrolled member. There . He added: 'In addition, the states oldest winery, Chateau Ste. The Associated Press reports that last week, billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates was cleared to purchase 2,100 acres of rural North Dakota farmland. 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. Farmland CNBC 2.94M subscribers Subscribe 47K 4.5M views 1 year ago #CNBC Bill Gates made. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, BillGatesbuys nearly $1B Heineken stake despite not being a big beer drinker, Bill Gates daughter living in $51M NYC home as she welcomes first baby, Elites want to use AI to censor political opponents, Bill Gates claims his private jet habit not part of the climate problem. Our exposure to Invitation Homes is owning its stock in mutual funds we manage, not buying houses w/ them, BlackRock tweeted. Bill Gates' 20,000 acres in Nebraska help make him the top farmland owner in the U.S. Christopher Burbach Jan 24, 2021 Updated May 17, 2022 0 1 of 10 This cropland west of Malmo, Nebraska, is. The acquisitions are held directly, as well as through Gates' personal investment entity, Cascade Investments. 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. 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 has invested in various high-profile commercial properties through his personal investment company, Cascade. Dailymail.com Reporter Investors generally are nevertheless buying an increasing share of the U.S. housing market. As more and more land becomes developed, less and less raw land is available, which potentially increases the value as demand remains the same or even increases. They own the soil where the potatoes in McDonalds french fries grow, the carrots from the worlds largest producer and the onions that Americans saut every night for dinner. Malone made the decision to put billions of his wealth into land ownership after spending a summer working on a family farm in Pennsylvania. But Gates, known for his philanthropic work solving some of the worlds most pressing public health and climate problems, has suggested that he does not treat his American farmland investments as part of his broader plans to save the planet. The potential is endless. Although the sale price has never been made public, the 492-acre home was listed for $8.9 millionand we cant imagine Bill and Melinda doing much haggling. FILE - Bill Gates attends a discussion during the 'Munich Security Conference' in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. Published: 18:36 ET, Dec 8 2022 Updated: 10:03 ET, Dec 9 2022 A MAP has revealed which billionaire owns the largest amount of land in the US - you'll be shocked to know that it isn't Bill Gates. In 2014, he reportedly purchased more than 4,500 acres in Suwannee County, Florida, for nearly $28 million. 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. Now Bill Gates appears to have acquired a slice of their tiny city, and locals near. 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, Undisclosed Sale Price (Listed for $8.9 Million). This can potentially earn you tons of money. 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. He also purchased the 800-acre Bridlewood Farms in Florida. Investors bought a record 18.4% of the homes purchased in the fourth quarter of 2021 three-quarters of which were single-family homes, according to real estate firm RedFin. In total, Gates owns approximately 242,000 acres of farmland with assets totaling more than $690m. In this country, enslaved Black labor first built US wealth atop stolen Native land. The acquisition, however . Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Ukrainian soldier takes out five tanks with Javelin missiles, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Hershey's Canada releases HER for SHE bars featuring a trans activist, Moment teenager crashes into back of lorry after 100mph police race. 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. But they're just renting it. 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. Today, Bill Gates owns 242,000 acres of farmland in 19 states. That's basically the motivation there. , an annual survey of the nations largest landowners. Since then, weve sold to dozens of people from ATV weekend warriors to camping enthusiasts to retired truck drivers. But he didn't, Quarterman said. 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. The Microsoft co-founder faced several claims that he owned a majority of Americas farmland earlier this year. Tuesday, the office of the Attorney General sent out a letter asking the Red River Trust to confirm how the company plans to use the land . In fact, he owns some of the land that produces potatoes used to make McDondalds french fries. TRENDING: OUCH! The gun and the whip may not accompany land acquisitions this time around. - Bill and Melinda Gates are taking on the new title of the biggest farmland owners in the United States, with a good chunk of that ownership being in Arkansas. Do whatever you want to with the land as the value increases. 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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. If you said investment, then you are right. Gates and his investment team own more than 240,000 acres, as reported by Eric O'Keefe, including 2,167 acres in Michigan. The attraction that people have to investing in farmland is that it tends to be countercyclical to the stock market. That makes Invitation Homes the largest operator of single-family rental homes in the country, but still represents a tiny fraction of all such homes. One of the largest plots of land owned by a subsidiary of the Gateses investment arm in Louisiana, Angelina Plantation, was previously owned by former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, who died last year, a month after being released from prison. Small farmers and Indigenous people are more cautious with the use of land. Bill Gates currently owns over 268,000 acres of American farmland spread out over 19 states. It was the highest priced land sale in the US that year. 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. 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. BILL Gates' $80billion property empire now hangs in the balance after he and his wife of 27 years announced they are divorcing. The Gates Rancho Santa Fe estate was purchased in 2014 because of its horse stables and proximity to a local race horse track. Bill and Melinda bought this massive mansion in the Coachella Valley for $12.5 million in 1999. 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. You can email us at contact@askbamland.com. Not only is it usable by you, but land can be used for so many different things. Right? Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates finally revealed the reasons behind his massive purchase of farmland: seed science and biofuel development. The 13,573-square-foot home has six bedrooms, 11 bedrooms and more luxury features than you can count. Now you have a foundation where the mission on one side is to save the world and to do all these wonderful things surrounding climate, and on the other side theyre investing in the exact same things that are causing the harm that the mission side is trying to protect, Mason said. 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. 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. He never did anything that different from before he got here and what other farmers were doing nearby.". Many people wonder why Bill Gates would make these moves with his investment portfolio. In Nebraska where he owns 20,000 acres, it is used for soybeans. After all, few can out-bid Bill Gates. That doesnt mean that every piece of land is a good investment, but a significant amount of land will offer a high return on investment. We know that one of the best ways to sequester carbon is through the soil. Bill Gates now owns the most farmland of anyone in the United States, according to a recent report from The Land Report . Lemmon Holdings, the billionaire spent $80 million to purchase. John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. In 2014, he co-founded The Red Nation, an Indigenous resistance organization. by Harvard Universitys Joint Center for Housing Studies. Ownership of Angelina Plantation Farms, which sits among three wildlife areas in Monterey with a view of Bayou Cocodrie, and other property has been a . Arable land is not just profitable. Bill and Melinda bought this massive mansion in the Coachella Valley for $12.5 million in 1999. 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. If the land is owned by the Cascade Investment Group or Cottonwood Ag Management it is likely that Bill Gates may be one of your neighbors. The Microsoft co-founder has reportedly purchased an $8.9 million Wyoming ranch that was once the stomping grounds of Buffalo Bill . The billionaire couple, in less than a decade, have accumulated more than 269,000 acres of farmland across 18 states, more than the entire acreage of New York City. 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 . There is a certain irony, of course, about Gates, 65, becoming the USA's biggest private owner of farmland, which American publication the Land Report recently declared him to be. That land is now largely rented out to various farmers. 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 . These billionaires have nothing to offer us in terms of saving the planet unless its our land back. 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. , said his investment group was behind the purchases, and suggested it was linked to seed and biofuel development. 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. 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. Mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California: $18 Million. This can be an affordable way to get started with your raw land investments. This map shows that area as a rectangle that can be dragged. Social media users are falsely claiming that Gates owns the majority of U.S. farmland. The 14,000 acres in Washington is used for potatoes and in Florida the land is used for carrots. Cascade declined to comment on its specific land holdings. The farmland real estate investment trust (REIT) Farmland Partners, which owns 156,500 acres in 16 US states, has seen its traded value more than double since November and is trading near an. 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. Bill Gates may be trading his pocket protector for cowboy boots. He's one of the richest men in the world and the largest individual owner of farmland in the country. The United States is defined by the excesses of its ruling class. The 66,000-square-foot home overlooks Lake Washington and, although there is no exact estimate of the homes value currently, it had a total assessed value of $147.5 million on 2009 property tax documents. It may even be easier to sell smaller lots than it would be to market the entire portion of land that you invest in. Bill Gates, one of the most powerful billionaires in the world and co-founder of tech giant Microsoft, and wife Melinda are ending their 27-year marriage, the two tweeted in unison on Monday. Here is the . You just have to keep it relatively clean, mow it, and pay property taxes. There is only a certain amount of land available on earth. An NBC News analysis also identified Gates as the largest farmland owner in the US. But, As of February 2021, Gates has made headlines across the wor. 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. Why should striking rail and postal workers get a big pay rise while our pay packets remain stagnant or worse? Malone's 2.2 million acres are largely located in Maine, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming and include profitable cattle ranches. There are also growing trends revolving around the purchase of low acreage farmland and noncommercial farming. Along the Columbia River border between Washington and Oregon, the Gateses purchased 100 Circles Farm, a 14,500-acre plot of land, for $171 million in 2018, according to property and business records. While Gates is Americas biggest farmland owner, hes far from being the nations largest landowner in general. He now owns more farmland than my entire Native American nation. 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. 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. Much of Turner's land is used as grazing land for over 50,000 head of buffalo . But some farmers whose land is adjacent to that of the Gateses have expressed disappointment that despite the couples wealth, they have not done more to preserve the environment. of the richest people in the country, owns less than one percent of the nations total farmland. While he owns nearly half of the Four Season Holding's hotel chain through Cascade, he also has partial ownership of Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some raw land may even be as affordable as a few thousand dollars, which can be an affordable and cost-effective investment strategy (or just a place to use for personal reasons). Not only that, but it fits in with Gates values as a philanthropist because he can keep the farmland healthy for future generations. 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. 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. Farmer Bill. The relationship to land who owns it, who works it, and who cares for it reflects obscene levels of inequality and legacies of colonialism and white supremacy., ill Gates has never been a farmer. 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. APS ASSESSMENT: False. The tech mogul, who is the fourth richest person in the world with a net worth of $121billion, according to Forbes, has quietly built up a massive agriculture portfolio. 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. Weve never been one of the big institutional buyers of single family homes, BlackRock said in response to one tweet.