With 111,288 hectares of farmland spread across 17 states, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is the biggest private farmland owner in the U.S., according to the Land Report.
The billionaire is also the 42nd-largest overall landowner in the country with most of those ranked above him owning mostly timberland, according to the Land Report 100, which lists the top 100
American landowners.
Most of his farmland was bought through large deals, most notably the purchase of 61 properties that were sold as a single block for US$520 million by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, or the 100 Circles Farm, a 5,900-hectare plot of agricultural land in Washington state, for $171 million, says the Land Report.
Bill Gates acquired his farmland predominantly through significant transactions, as reported by the Land Report. A notable deal was the purchase of 61 properties, consolidated into a single block, for $520 million from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Another major acquisition was the
100 Circles Farm, a 5,900-hectare agricultural land in Washington state, which he bought for $171 million.
Among Bill Gates’ farmland holdings, the Angelina Plantation Farms in Louisiana stands as his largest.
This farm spans nearly 28,300 hectares and primarily cultivates soybeans, corn, cotton, and rice.
According to a 2022 report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Agriculture Statistics Service, there are 895,300,000 acres of farmland in the U.S.
In total, Gates owns approximately 242,000 acres of farmland ,roughly,0.03% of the total with assets totaling more than $690m. To put that into perspective, that’s nearly the size of Hong Kong and twice the acreage of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe.
As of January 12, 2024, Forbes estimates his net worth at $120.2 billion, making him the seventh wealthiest individual globally.
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