Bill Gates was quietly becoming the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Bill and Melinda Gates, who recently announced theyre getting divorced and are dividing their assets, are deeply invested in American agriculture. Farmland can be an investment in several ways. He owns 2m acres and has the worlds largest privately owned buffalo herd. For five generations, the Reed Family has owned and operated the logging company Green Diamond Resource Co. Can You Build A Wedding Venue On Residential Land? So while the tech mogul certainly owns a large constellation of farms, its nowhere close to the majority nationwide. Buffalo Bill Cody's Ranch in Cody, Wyoming: Undisclosed Sale Price (Listed for $8.9 Million). The 229-acre property was once home to Jenny Craig, founder of the Jenny Craig nutrition company, and was purchased by the Gates with hopes that it would one day be where their daughter Jennifer could train for her equestrian career. 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. The project is in its early . 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. 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. 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. The Microsoft co-founder has reportedly purchased an $8.9 million Wyoming ranch that was once the stomping grounds of Buffalo Bill . 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). So if now the best farmers can do if you want to stay in farming is rent this land, you're not going to get the benefits that come with land ownership.. 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. Gates achievement, according to the report, is that hes largest private owner of farmland in the US. Through Sierra Pacific, the family owns some 2 million acres in California and Washington. The land we all live on should not be the sole property of a few. 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.'. 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. This can be an affordable way to get started with your raw land investments. 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. 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. 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. We know that one of the best ways to sequester carbon is through the soil. 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. Brittany has been in the land business since 2020 when the world was starting to shut down. This can potentially earn you tons of money. , updated In north Louisiana, the Gateses investment firm owns about 70,000 acres of land through at least three other shell companies. 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. CNN founder Ted Turner owns 2 million acres of land largely in New Mexico, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Georgia. The Microsoft co-founder acquired 14,500 acres of the fertile land in 2018, helping to make him the largest private farmland owner in the US, with total holdings of almost 250,000 acres,. Where Does Bill Gates Own Farmland in the US. An NBC News analysis also identified Gates as the largest farmland owner in the US. Additionally, through his personal investment firm, Cascade, Bill Gates owns approximately half of the Four Season Holdings' hotel chain. 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. 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. A survey of the Gateses farmland holdings shows that a broad range of the vegetables that Americans eat can be traced back to his land and that some of this land has also been owned by other billionaires. 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. Land holds ample opportunities for growth and development, yet you may find that there is more land than there is competition. In 2009, the Gates' reportedly purchased a ranch in Wyoming that once belonged to Buffalo Bill Cody. Investors bought a record 18.4% of the homes purchased in the fourth quarter of 2021 three-quarters of which were single-family homes. Housecall is the official blog of RISMedia, covering real estate news and information for agents, brokers and their clients. CNN founder Ted Turner owns 2 million acres of land largely in New Mexico, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Georgia. Many people wonder why Bill Gates would make these moves with his investment portfolio. And we think it will provide good inflation protection in the long run. Farmland offers a strategy that is completely separated from his other wealth and investments. John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. The 14,000 acres in Washington is used for potatoes and in Florida the land is used for carrots. His largest holding is in Louisiana (69,071 acres), followed by Arkansas (47,927 acres) and Arizona (25,750 acres). The value depends on a lot of factors including location, type of land, acreage, supply, demand, and more. Do whatever you want to with the land as the value increases. BlackRock is sometimes confused w/ Blackstone, which owned Invitation Homes. 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. The map shows a 242,000 acre square situated over New York. Can you imagine having that much property? With more productive seeds we can avoid deforestation and help Africa deal with the climate difficulty they already face. He also owns three hotels in Dublin, Ireland, and a fourth in Limerick. Bill Gates may be trading his pocket protector for cowboy boots. The family's 1.7 million acres of land are primarily spread across Washington, Oregon, and California. 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. The Microsoft co-founder and his former wife, Melinda, are the top farmland owners in. That was a virus I got from Ted Turner.. Gates shares 95% of the ownership with Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Weve answered hundreds of questions from people regarding the buying and use of land. While the Gates own a lot of farmland, nonfarmers own 283 million acres of farmland throughout the U.S. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'askbamland_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_3',103,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-askbamland_com-medrectangle-4-0'); This article will go into detail about how much land Bill Gates owns and why he owns so much. My investment group chose to do this, Bill Gates said on Reddit in March when asked about his farmland purchases while promoting his latest book, How to Avoid A Climate Disaster. It is not connected to climate. He did acknowledge that more productive farming techniques can help reduce deforestation in other parts of the world. 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. the latest American Housing Survey by the Census Bureau. 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. 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. But even with his big new agricultural holdings, Gates still doesn't rank in the Top 100 of private landowners overall in the U.S. - when considering owners of land of all types, not just agricultural. It may even be easier to sell smaller lots than it would be to market the entire portion of land that you invest in. Malone's 2.2 million acres are largely located in Maine, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming and include profitable cattle ranches. 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. Here is the . Well, youd think, if you're looking for somebody with enough capital to try that, he would go first. In terms of agriculture and his practices Bill Gates, Microsoft billionaire, may be more than . There is only a certain amount of land available on earth. ', Cascade did not elaborate on the agricultural land purchases other than to say that the company is 'very supportive of sustainable farming.'. MINOT, N.D. North Dakotans like to pride themselves on being pro-property rights. But farmer advocates say the Gateses large-scale farm purchases dont make room for smaller farmers to break into the market. Its a hedging strategy, said Daniel Bigelow, a professor of agricultural economics at Montana State University, who previously served as a USDA research economist. Adding to the confusion, Blackstone was once a major investor in BlackRock, but sold off its stake in the 1990s. You can email us at contact@askbamland.com. 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. It makes no sense.. There are more than 85 million single-family homes in the country, and only around 15 million of those are rentals, according to the latest American Housing Survey by the Census Bureau. In fact, he reportedly owns more farmland than any other individual in America. This means that you can find good deals that may be just the thing you are looking for. 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 faced several claims that he owned a majority of America's farmland earlier this year. Several Properties in Wellington, Florida: $27.2 Million (Total). Someone else is building that equity on their back, said Johnathan Hladik, the policy director at the Center for Rural Affairs, who is also a farmer in Nebraska. One of the Gates' favorite vacation homes is in the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, Montana. You may also be interested in why a billionaire wants land. The couple also snapped up an oceanfront home in San Diego County, California, last year, for a record making $43 million. I mean, it is unlikely that one of the richest people in the world would invest in something that wasnt a good investment, right? You may have heard that Bill Gates owns a lot of land, but you may not know how much. 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. There, on Gates parcels, an industrial farm grows potatoes for McDonalds french fries. In Georgia and Florida, NBC News independently confirmed through research of property records that the Gateses investment firm owns more than 7,000 acres through two limited liability companies, Lakeland Sands and Lakeland Sands Florida, LLC. You just have to keep it relatively clean, mow it, and pay property taxes. The foundation aims to support country-led inclusive agricultural transformation across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, according to its website. The gun and the whip may not accompany land acquisitions this time around. by Harvard Universitys Joint Center for Housing Studies. They accounted for almost 1% of the agricultural land in the United States. The outlet reported this week that Gates, 65, owns 268,984 acres of. In May, Bill Gates also transferred about $850 million in shares of the agricultural machinery company John Deere to his wife after the two shared publicly their plans to divorce. Mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California: $18 Million. When pressed during a book discussion on Reddit about why hes gobbling up so much farmland, Gates claimed, It is not connected to climate [change]. The decision, he said, came from his investment group. Cascade Investment, the firm making these acquisitions, is controlled by Gates. The billionaire Microsoft co-founder has become the largest owner of farmland in the. They bought and later sold an additional 6,000 acres in Georgia, NBC News found. And in Florida, farmers grow carrots on their property. 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. Farmers just aren't owning the assets anymore. 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. In fact, he owns some of the land that produces potatoes used to make McDondalds french fries. As of 2020, industry reports show he owned about 0.027% of U.S. farmland. Farmland CNBC 2.94M subscribers Subscribe 47K 4.5M views 1 year ago #CNBC Bill Gates made. 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. AP'S ASSESSMENT: False. These billionaires have nothing to offer us in terms of saving the planet unless its our land back. Bill Gates is now the largest private landowner in the country. - 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. He said that this is where large tracts of rich farmland is used to raise livestock and grow many of the vegetables that end up in grocery aisles up and down the East Coast. Last year, Bill and Melinda purchased a sprawling beachfront 6-bedroom, 4-bath home in Del Mar, Californiaoutside of San Diegofor $43 million. The 13,573-square-foot home has six bedrooms, 11 bedrooms and more luxury features than you can count. Which is where the Bill Gates' Land Ownership interactive map comes in. 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. But billionaire class assertions that they are philosopher kings and climate-conscious investors who know better than the original caretakers are little more than ruses for what amounts to a 21st century land grab with big payouts in a for-profit economy seeking green solutions. But that could soon change. 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). Behind Gates in terms of investment in farmland are the cofounders of the Wonderful Company, Stewart and Lynda Resnick, with 190,000 acres. Bill Gates has never been a farmer. Malone owns several ranching and real estate businesses predominantly in Maine, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. While those companies dont explicitly name Cascade Investments as the owner in their public records, they do share the address of Cascade in Kirkland, Washington, or the address of a Cascade subsidiary, list the names of Cascade employees who registered the companies and sometimes even email addresses from the Bill and Melinda Gates Investment Group. That program ensures agriculture on the land is audited to meet standards, like soil health and water management, created by the nonprofit Leading Harvest, which counts one of the subsidiaries of Gates investment firm as a partner. Why aren't they giving more? 5. 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. Weve never been one of the big institutional buyers of single family homes, BlackRock said in response to one tweet. | Photo by Wikimedia Commons . 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. You may have heard that Bill Gates owns a lot of land, but you may not know how much. These purchases are also a direct result of their daughters equestrian career hopes because of Wellingtons close proximity to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. 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. There farmers primarily grow soybeans, rice, corn and cotton. Since then, weve sold to dozens of people from ATV weekend warriors to camping enthusiasts to retired truck drivers. *According to figures compiled by The Land Report in 2019. Lets take a look at some of the reasons that land, particularly raw land, can be a good investment for Bill Gates or anybody else, including you. Xanadu 2.0 in Medina, Washington: Estimated $140-170 Million, Source: Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times. It also offers proven return rates. U.S. Census Bureau data shows fewer than 20% of such properties are rentals, and the vast majority of those are owned by individual investors, not institutional investors like BlackRock. In fact, this also means that you may not even have to apply for a loan to start the investment! 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. A Grimmway Farms employee moves a water pipe at one of their carrot farms in the Antelope Valley near Lancaster, Calif., in 2004. According to the Land Report in 2021, the Gateses had 242,000 acres of farmland, 1,234 acres or recreational land, and 25,750 acres of land that was in transition from farmland to residential and . It may even be easier to sell smaller lots than it would be to market the entire portion of land that you invest in. However, his largest land holdings are in Louisiana (69,071 acres), Arkansas (47,927 acres), Nebraska (20,588 acres . Weve been trained by experience, land acquisition courses, and hundreds of hours meeting with county assessors and clerks, zoning officials, realtors, and land investors. Bill Gates owns more private farmland in the US than anyone else, an analysis by The Land Report found. The billionaire Microsoft co-founder has become the largest owner of farmland in the United States by quietly buying up massive plots across the county, a new report says. 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. 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. Not only is it usable by you, but land can be used for so many different things. The billionaire says he purchased the land because they are not making it anymore.. Gates and his investment team own more than 240,000 acres, as reported by Eric O'Keefe, including 2,167 acres in Michigan. When Quarterman first heard about Gates firm buying land in the area, he began digging through local property records, linking addresses and business records from registered owners to Kirkland-based companies, until he was able to piece together that the companies buying multiple tracts of land in the Suwannee River Basin were all a shell of a shell of a shell company investing for Bill Gates. NBC News independently confirmed that there were, in fact, shell companies tracing back to Gates firm that purchased 6,021 acres across four counties in Georgia.