- Bill Gates owns a ton of farmland in the United States—as in, about 270,000 acres.
- That makes him the largest landowner in the U.S.
- Stats show agriculture is a pretty good investment for billionaires.
Bill Gates and conspiracy theories go together like peanut butter and jelly. The billionaire can’t seem to do anything without drawing the conspiratorial ire of online netizens. One of the more colorful theories pertains to Gates’s strange interest in U.S. agriculture, with rumors that the former Microsoft CEO owns upward of 80 percent of farmland in the United States.
Amazing, if true—but it’s extremely not. In a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) last week, Gates once again fielded a question pertaining to his AG holdings and stated that he actually only owns 1/4000 of all U.S. farmland, or about 270,000 acres spread across 18 different states. Although nowhere near 80 percent of U.S. farmland, it’s still a little more than one-third of the state of Rhode Island, a surprising amount for one person and enough to make Gates the largest landowner in the U.S.
So why does Bill Gates, and other billionaires like him, keep buying up so much farmland?
Some experts have pointed to Gates’s well-known sustainability and green tech initiatives as a possible reason, but during an earlier Reddit AMA in 2021, Gates said, “my investment group chose to do this. It is not connected to climate.” That’s because the old adage goes: “Buy land—they aren’t making it anymore.” (Which volcanologists know isn’t exactly true, but you get the idea).
Starting in 2013, Gates began investing his billions (through the firm Cascade Investment) in agriculture because of its steady increase in value and low volatility. According to Mother Jones, the average price of farmland increased six times from 1940 to 2015, and the trend is likely to continue as the amount of arable land in the U.S. continues to shrink from climate-related pressures.
However, this practice of buying up agricultural land predates Bill Gates and has been a popular investment for the super-rich since at least the early 2000s. The financial crisis later in that same decade prompted an explosion of investments into farmland when monetary safe havens became scarce.
Although Gates owns these farms, he isn’t changing their practices. Instead, he mostly acts like a landlord and allows professional farmers to keep doing their thing—even if those practices are ruinous to the environment. Similar to private equity firms destabilizing the housing market, millionaires and billionaires investing in farmland are also creating their own set of issues, as they are now pricing out young farmers looking to buy land.
Will Bill Gates’s green tech initiatives ever intersect with his growing agricultural empire? Who knows. In that same Reddit AMA from 2021, the one where Gates separated his land investments from his sustainability initiatives, he also mentioned the importance of “productive seeds” to avoid deforestation as well as the production of biofuels, which relies heavily on corn, in the very same answer.
For now, Gates’s ever-expanding farmland ownership is really just “rich guy doing rich guy things,” and while concerning in a late-stage capitalism sort of way, it isn’t as cartoonishly nefarious as some conspiratorial corners of the internet want to believe.
Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.
FAQs
Several of the world's wealthiest are purchasing farmland as part of their investment strategies. But billionaires acquiring agricultural property isn't a trend. It's a strategic move for investors to enhance and diversify their portfolios.
How much farmland does China own in the US? ›
China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land. That's a 30% increase just since 2019. And on top of that, they own land near an air force base in North Dakota.
Who owns the most farmland in America? ›
Canadian investors own the largest amount — 12,845,210 acres, or slightly less land than the size of West Virginia — much of it for forestry land used for timber production. Chinese investors owned an even tinier fraction – about 383,934 acres, according to 2021 data requested by NPR.
How much farmland does Jeff Bezos own? ›
After farmers, the next biggest group of investors is high net worth individuals, he said. Bezos, the founder of Amazon, owns about 420,000 acres of U.S. farmland, according to media reports. Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, has nearly 270,000 acres.
Why is Amazon buying farmland? ›
With ownership comes Amazon's ability to better develop and run its logistics facilities in regions such as Southern California, where community movements to ban or limit warehouse development near neighborhoods have taken root, Bridge's Jones said.
Why are farmers in the US rich? ›
Farm operator households have more wealth than the average U.S. household because significant capital assets, such as farmland and equipment, are generally necessary to operate a successful farm business.
Who owns most of America? ›
In 2024, America's largest landowner is Red Emmerson. Red and his family own 2,411,000 acres in California, Oregon, and Washington through their timber-products company, Sierra Pacific Industries.
How much farmland does the Mormon Church own? ›
The Utah-based religious organization now owns at least $2 billion worth of agricultural terrain across the country. It now owns an estimated $134 million worth of agricultural land in Nebraska and is on track to surpass CNN founder Ted Turner as the single largest landowner in the country.
Where are billionaires buying land? ›
The New York Times first reported on the group's investors and plans. California Forever, the parent company of Flannery, has purchased more than 78 square miles of farmland in Solano County since 2018, largely in the southeastern portion of the county, with parcels stretching from Fairfield to Rio Vista.
Who is the largest private landowner in the US? ›
The 2022 Land Report 100, compiled each year by The Land Report magazine, released its annual list of landowners who own the most acres in the United States. The nation's largest private landowners are the Emmerson family in California who own over 2.4 million acres.
Dan Wilks and his brother Farris are the largest landowners in Montana, and Idaho.
Who is the largest property owner in the world? ›
Who Owns the Most Land in the World? The largest landowner in the world currently is King Charles III of England. How much land does the Royal Family own? He and the British Royal Family own more than 6,600,000,000 acres of land around the world.
Why are millionaires buying land? ›
The transfer of wealth from one generation to the next, known as the great wealth transfer, is driving billionaires to invest in land in the United States. This provides a means for them to preserve their wealth for their heirs and secure their financial future.
Why are companies buying farmland? ›
Aside from being relatively unaffected by inflation, farmland is a solid investment: The world will need to produce 60% more food by 2050, according to UN estimates. The value of farmland increased from $2,700 per acre in 2010 to $5,460 in 2023, according to the USDA.
Why are athletes buying farmland? ›
Why did Joe Burrow and other athletes buy farming land. The group bought the land to then lease it to farmers who work it and gives the athletes a single-digit percentage annual return to their investment, a move that was presented by Patricof Co.
