America’s largest landowner is now Bill Gates

Bill Gates, the fourth richest person in the world and a self-described nerd who is known for his early programming skills instead of his love of the outdoors, was quietly snatching 242,000 acres of farmland in the US – enough to make it the largest owner of private agricultural land in America.

After years of reports that he was buying farmland in places like Florida and Washington, The Land Report revealed that Gates, who has a net worth of nearly $ 121 billion according to Forbes, built a huge portfolio of agricultural land covering 18 states. Its largest properties are in Louisiana (69,071 acres), Arkansas (47,927 acres) and Nebraska (20,588 acres). In addition, he has a stake in 25,750 acres of transition land on the west side of Phoenix, Arizona, which is being developed as a new suburb.

According The Land ReportFor research purposes, the land is maintained directly and through third parties by Cascade Investments, Gates’ personal investment vehicle. Other investments by Cascade include food safety company Ecolab, used car retailer Vroom and Canadian National Railway.

While it may be surprising that a billionaire in technology is also the country’s largest landowner, this is not Gates’s only foray into agriculture. In 2008, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced $ 306 million in grants to promote sustainable high-yield agriculture among small farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The foundation has invested even more in the development and proliferation of “super crops” that are resistant to climate change and higher yielding dairy cows. Last year, the organization announced Gates Ag One, a non-profit organization to promote these efforts.

It is not entirely clear how Gates’ farmland is being used, or whether any part of the land is being set aside for conservation. (Cascade did not return Forbes(request for comment). However, there are some indications that the land could be used in a way that is in line with the foundation’s values. Cottonwood Ag Management, a subsidiary of Cascade, is a member of Leading Harvest, a nonprofit organization that promotes sustainable agriculture standards that prioritize the protection of crops, soil and water resources.

Gates is not the only billionaire in The Land Reportthe list of the main owners of private agricultural land. Wonderful Company’s co-founders, Stewart and Lynda Resnick (net worth: $ 7.1 billion), came in third, with 190,000 acres. Their farms produce products for their brands, including POM Wonderful, Wonderful Pistachios and Wonderful Halos mandarins.

Although Gates may be the largest landowner in the country, he is by no means the largest individual landowner. On his list of the top 100 American landowners, The Land Report gives first place to President of Liberty Media, John Malone, who owns 2.2 million acres of farms and forests. CNN founder Ted Turner came in third, with 2 million acres of farmland in eight states. Even Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is investing in large-scale land, reaching 25th place with his 420,000-acre property, mostly in western Texas.