This Man Owns More Land Than Anyone Else in America For a basic sense of how the world of ultra-massive real estate has changed, heres one fact: Between 2012 and 2013, the top 100 added 700,000 acres to their collective portfolios, bringing their total to two percent of the U.S. land mass. 113,532 acres Roughly equal to: Twice the size of Jacksonville, FL. David Fasken, a Canadian, bought a ranch in West Texas in 1913 and the discovery of oil on the property led to the ceation of the Fasken Oil & Ranch, a major oil drilling. New Mexico officials . Babacomari Ranch Elgin, Ariz. 100,000 acres Many of the owners are ranchers, heirs to the properties or companies founded decades ago that purchased the land. 28. Each year The Land Report publishes a list nations top property owners ranked by the number of acres they own in the United States. The enormous cattle operation near Yellowstone National Park seems not to mind when elk or antelope walk by. 212,985 acres David Fasken, a Canadian, bought a ranch in West Texas in 1913. Land: Oil and gas divisions throughout the West and Southwest; timber units across Maine, Oklahoma, and the Southeast. Lucien Maxwell - Wikipedia Whether its leasing land for renewable energy, agriculture, or commercial use, Commissioner Garcia Richard works with landowners. Rockin 7 Ranch is now one of the biggest in Wyoming. 911,215 acres Animals, plants, survival tips, and more. Roughly equal to: Twice the size of Badlands National Park. There are nearly 2,000 different species! Kroenke is married to Ann Walkton Kroenke, an heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune. Family members have run a long-time lumber business. 179,129 acres It also oversees granting grazing leases and mineral rights on federally-owned lands. The Lykes heirs own in Florida a 337,000 acre ranch, which includes sugar cane and cattle operations, as well as a 264,555 acre ranch in west Texas. The Lee family comes in at No. Forbes Magazine once called Clarence Scharbauer Jr., probably the most powerful man in Midland [Texas]. That was before the First Nation Bank of Midland failed and left Scharbauer with plenty of land, but little of his old wealth. Turner's land is utilized by greater than 50,000 head of buffalo for grazing - the biggest non-public herd of bison on the earth. 190,000 acres . The family still operates two ranches in Texas, but no word on what kind of fencing they use. Lee family:275,000 acres in New Mexico. Family members are farmers and descendants ofJack Simplot, who first supplied McDonald's with french fries. 200,000 acres Doesnt just own CNN he is the largest landowner in New Mexico. The company, now known as Westervelt Company, has operations in renewable energy, lumber, and wildlife services. Much of the land is in Texas. Not only do the private land holdings on this list often generate income for their owners, but also real estate itself is a valuable commodity. This ranching family owns some of the oldest operating ranch land in the country. Loves oil investment, ranching and Mitt Romney; not a fan of gay reporters knocking the Boy Scouts of America. The brothers started buying up Texas ranch land in 1923 and the modern day Beggs still manage much of it. Here is a look at the richest person in every state. Dont mess with Texas, and never, ever mess with a Texas ranching family. Peterffy made a fortune as a successful investor and innovator on Wall Street. 625,000 acres The activities help residents experience the natural world. The largest landowners in both Montana and Idaho, the Wilks brothers also own ranches in Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas. Background: Toronto attorney David Fasken started buying land in Texas in 1913. Bezos?). A third generation now steers the Monahan Cattle Co. in Nebraska. 220,000 acres and J.E. Ted Turner tops the list, with more than 2 million acres spread across 12 states. Briscoe heirs:640,000 acres in Texas. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Roughly equal to: Three and a half times the size of Philadelphia. Kokernot heirs:278,000 acres in Texas. All told, Buck owns 925,000 acres. Family members come from theSinclair Oil empire. Much of the land is used to grow crops like wheat, corn, and sorghum. J.G. Still, thats not as it much as it once was. Not surprisingly, many of the people on this list rank among the wealthiest Americans. 31. A few people and families own more than 100 million acres of land in the United States. Among the soccer teams, railroads, movie theaters and newspaper, the Denver billionaire has enough land for what will be one of the largest wind farms in the country. 150,000 acres Roughly equal to: Three times the size of Houston. 161,093 acres When the Suggs relocated their cattle from Texas to Oklahoma, they found buckets of oil under their new land. Babbitt heirs:275,000 acres in Arizona. Many of them inherited land bought cheap at the turn of. They own several large ranches in the northern part of the state. 22. St. Louis businessman Leo Drey began making sizable donations of Missouri forest land to the non-profit in the 1960s. Since then, they have been acquiring land. The online retailing billionaire who founded Amazon and is among the wealthiest people in the world owns 420,000 acres, which is about three times the size of Guam. Bezos is cofounder of Amazon. 192,000 acres Roughly equal to: Half the size of Connecticut. Land: Kelleys properties span Texas, New Mexico, and Florida and are used to breed rare species of animals. The oil and gas business man developed a love for land on his grandparents farm. 130,000 acres A large extended family looking to drop in the rankings. Ford family: 580,000 acresin Oregon. The land and livestock division has 37 farms and 15 ranches with capacity for 30,000 mother cows. I think the Longyear family and Longyear Heirs out of Marquette MI own at least 100,000 acres. Still, the family hasnt climbed in this years rankings. Estimates were based on information from published reports, online databases, tax records and information provided by various land owners. 41. Buck is the owner of Tall Timber Trust, one of the largest owners of timberland in Maine. Family membersoperate ranches. Background: The Pingree family's fortune in timber began in the mid 1800s and has conserved more than three quarters of a million acres of Maine forestland -- a block larger than the size of Rhode Island. Land: Ranches and oilfields throughout Texas. 102,882 acres The ranch spawned from land that was originally purchased by Captain Richard King in 1853 and subsequently passed down through generations. Brad Kelley:1.2 million acres in Kentucky. They use their land for timber, sand and gravel, and oil extraction. 22 to 27 | Nos. A.S. Gages headquarters is now a high end hotel in Marathon, Texas, but it once centered more than half a million acres of grazing lands. 2,200,000 acres Their holdings outside New Mexico include the Peachtree and Top ranches in John Steinbecks Salinas Valley. The majority of the land controlled by the private owners is West of the Mississippi River, with exceptions in Maine and Florida. At the same time they strive to help maximize potential revenue. His cows are big, thick, good traveling, sound, fertile, hardy Herefords. 189,000 acres Hamer family:600,000 acres in West Virginia. 135,000 acres Zane & Tanya Kiehne:345,000 acres in New Mexico and Texas. In 2019, D.K. The Galts are a family of cattle ranchers with a number of large properties in Montana, including the Martinsdale Ranch. The ranch recently received a conservation easement from the U.S. Department of Defense and New Mexico Land Conservancy. Shannon's farming and ranching operations produce peanuts, corn, wheat, dairy, and cattle. Chalk up 3,000 animal units to the Dana Ranch. Land: 250,000-acre Baughman Farms in Kansas; 149,493-acre Overland Trail Cattle Company & Ranch in Wyoming and 35,000 acres in Colorado. He uses the land to test reusable space vehicles. 31 - New Mexico John Malone owns a total of 2.2 million acres of land, with a portion of it being in New Mexico. Background: D.M. Ted Turner owns one million acres in New Mexico. largest landowners in louisiana - legal-innovation.com The family owns numerous properties throughout the northern and eastern part of the state. Has anyone ever heard of Bill Honeycutt who says he owns 100,000 acres in the San Joaquin Valley area, an raises a huge herd of sheep, (10,000) an a large herd of Black Angus Beef cattle??? Roughly equal to: Twice the size of Singapore. Ed Bass helped build the brand-new $540 million Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, which opened in late October 2019. 615,000 acres 150,000 acres Family members are mostly cattle ranchers. And then there are the individuals, including Shannon Kizer, who owns 302,000 acres in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. John Riggs has a modern utopia in mind for his great-grandfathers old ranch. This land is their land. Roger Milliken takes his relationship with his familys land pretty seriously. In other words, stitching together all the land listed here gets you something about the size of Connecticut. Here's how it breaks down between each division: D.R. 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. The Killam family deals largely in cattle and oil, with ranches in Texas and Oregon and oil operations in Louisiana, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas. The Singleton family owns 1,110,000 acres in New Mexico and California. There is alsoAnne Marion who owns 275,000 acres in Texas, including the famous 6666, or "Four Sixes" cattle ranch in the Southern Panhandle, which is close to 150 years old. The family-run business has earned high praise from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. 275,000 acres 175,000 acres 35. The Martin family, owners of the nearly 100 year old RoyOMartin Lumber Company, have over half a million acre of land, largely in Louisiana. Today, his family owns some 280,000 acres, primarily in Collier County, which is named after him. The parcel is roughly the size of Hong Kong. The Briscoe family is next, owning 640,000 acres of land in Texas. CNN founder Ted Turner owns 2 million acres of land largely in New Mexico, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Georgia. Crystal is a curious writer who's always looking to learn more. Though he resides in New York City, Stefan Soloviev owns over 325,000 acres of land across New Mexico, Kansas, and Texas. Jeff Bezos, John Malone are among the major landowners in America Soloviev uses the landto grow crops like wheat, corn, and sorghum. Other than buying and selling financial institutions at huge markups, Ford has a deep love of the land. Brad Kelley's investment group purchased the 762-acre Calumet Farm, a thoroughbred horse breeding and training facility in Kentucky, in 2012. Then there's the Killiams at No. 20. 400,000 acres As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. A 1910 advertisement for his bulls ran, Big-Bones, Broad-Backed, Bald-Faced Beauties-Buy Bar-Cross Bulls- Brites Best. Not bad. Family members own a long-time logging firm,Green Diamond Resource Co. 3. Thomas Peterffy arrived in the United States as a refugee from Hungary in 1965. (Just kidding. 8. The Singleton family owns 1,110,000 acres in New Mexico and 23:50 GMT 25 Nov 2019 Roughly equal to: Three times the size of Detroit. Why Dont American Farmers Embrace Peasant Farming? 1,860,000 acres His investment in Spaceport America is expected to bring jobs and economic growth to the area. Ah the Koch Brothers. Stan Kroenke: 1.4 million acres in Montana and Wyoming. Father George Hearst hit silver after coming to California as a 49er and expanded into minerals and ranching. 1,250,000 acres 119,500 acres 32 - New York Columbia University owns approximately 209 properties, which collectively account to make it the largest landowner in New York. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 280,000 acres Roughly equal to: Twice the size of the Hawaiin Island of Molokai. Below are the nuts and bolts of the list along with some extra insights. O'Connor heirs:587,800 acres in Texas. Heres how it breaks down between each division: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) handles 54.7% of the land, followed by the U.S. Forest Service at 37.4%. His land ownership in New Mexico will likely expand as the space industry develops. John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. Waggoner's began expanding his father's ranching interests and established what is known today as the W.T. Andrew Tate, the violent, high-profile, virulently misogynistic pro-Trump social media influencer currently imprisoned and under investigation by Romanian authorities due to allegations of. The Scharbauer family has focused on breeding Thoroughbreds while others pay to explore their land for oil and natural gas. Pingree heirs:830,000 acres in Maine. Family members are mostly sheep and cattle ranchers who owe some of their wealth to the discovery of uranium and coal on their property. Nuf said. Climbed the rankings this year by adding land between Dallas and Waco to his Texas panhandle holdings. 145,000 acres In 1864, great-great-grandmother Elizabeth Sinclair bought Niihau, the Forbidden Island of Hawaii, for $10,000 in gold from King Kamehameha V. Since, the family has honored the islands traditional culture, but not always to commercial success. Roughly equal to: Three-quarters of Grand Canyon National Park. 14. Owners of the oldest continuously operated cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle. The type of resources that help them manage their land responsibly and sustainably. In addition, they bring jobs and economic growth with their investments in the aerospace and other industries. John Malone:2.2 million acres inMaine, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. Real estate mogul and owner of the Los Angeles Rams, Stan Kroenke, owns 1.4 million acres of land in the United States, including a 124,000 acre ranch in Montana and additional land in Wyoming. The Lee Family owns an estimated 275,000 acres in New Mexico. Roughly equal to: As large as Anchorage, AK. Crowbar Beggs for getting them to the list. Its the fifth-largest in the nation. Discover the Little-Known U.S. River Gorge That's, The 9 Best Books About National Parks for Travelers, Discover 8 Extinct Animals from New Mexico, Meet the 4 Largest Land Owners in Arizona, The 15 Deepest Lakes in the United States. 29. 119,000 acres 180,000 acres Why has the federal governments ownership of land been decreasing? Heart of America, a song he co-wrote with his wife, became the anthem of the Today shows campaign to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Roughly equal to: Three times the size of Dallas. 8. 4. The Lydas are Texas cattle ranchers and landowners. 1 to 6 | Nos. Member of both families operate six cattle ranches. Their land is primarily made of up six cattle ranches in Utah. His purchase of the Sierra Grande Lodge and Spa brings tourists closer to two of his landmark properties and, ya know, space. Bird populations:Here's how we can save them. 230,000 acres The family used the sale of New Mexicos Ladder Ranch to Ted Turner to purchase La Escalera ranch in Texas. Hughes family: 390,000 acres in Texas. Courtesy of Washington State Dept. The McDonald family's 474,000 acres are spread across Alabama, Florida, and Oklahoma but the majority of the family's land holdings is in Maine. 13/20 Henry Singleton cofounded the industrial conglomerate Teledyne in 1960, and begin acquiring ranch land in New. 40. The BLM manages public lands and resources, including promoting recreational access. Its also home to some of the biggest landowners in the country. 278,000 acres Family members used the land to enrich themselves from oil and cattle ranching. 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. The family runs 10,000 cattle on 475,000 acres along the Montana-Wyoming state line. Lastly, the National Park Service controls 1.9% of New Mexicos land, and the Fish and Wildlife Service owns 1.3%. While true to their legendary ranching roots, the heirs of King Ranch Inc. have diversified their portfolio to include land for pecans, citrus, turf grass and vegetables. Horton owns over half a million acres of land. John Irwin II bought the historic O RO Ranch in the late 70s for its fidelity to the past. Background: Alice Gertrudis Kleberg East, gave up her interest in her grandfather Richard King of King Ranch estate in exchange for the San Antonio and Santa Fe ranches. His Anschutz Entertainment Group is also the worlds largest owner and operator of sports and entertainment venues. Family members are ranch operators. Fisher family:440,000 acres in California. Background: The family business, Irving Woodlands, has roots dating back to 1882 when James D. Irving founded a company that included a sawmill, gristmill, lumber business and farms. Barta family:286,000 acres in Nebraska. A logging family with a state-of-the-art $30 million softwood sawmill in Ashland, Maine. 110,448 acres In 1963, Vice President Lyndon Johnson granted him irrevocable power of attorney. 115,000 acres as well as other partner offers and accept our. For five generations, the Reed Family has owned and operated the logging company Green Diamond Resource Co. Before he passed away last year, an employee gave Robert Earl Holding a plaque that echoed his credo: All I want is the land next to mine. That land includes ski resorts in Utah and a whole lot of real estate in Salt Lake City, all of which he built from a small stake in a Wyoming truck stop. This businessman has ranch holdings in Texas, Florida, and New Mexico. Roughly equal to: The size of the Hawaiian Island of Kaua'i. Roughly equal to: One-tenth the size of Puerto Rico. When your ranch surrounds a For Union National Monument in Northern New Mexico, you have to think slightly beyond raising cattle. The comments below have not been moderated, By Land: Ranchlands and oilfields throughout Texas. Anne Marion owns several major properties in Texas, including the famous 6666, or "Four Sixes" cattle ranch in the Southern Panhandle, which is close to 150 years old. Land: Oilfields and ranchlands throughout Texas. Roughly equal to: Half the size of Rhode Island. An advertisement VanderSloott took out in Idaho Falls Post Register accused a reporter of bringing personal politics to a report on child molestation in a local Boy Scout troop when the reporter had not made his sexuality public. The Texas businessman, not the president. Family members run a long-time lumber business. Sign up for your Modern Farmer Weekly Newsletter. Background: According to Forbes, Kelley founded a tobacco company in 1990 and sold it for $1 billion in 2001. He also knows his way around the rest of the world. The list comes with a thank you from sponsor Gregory W. Fay, owner of real estate brokerage Fay Ranches, to the top 100 for helping to produce the food we eat, and providing so much of the habitat for our fish and wildlife. Its a nice pat on the back if your portfolio just crossed the 100,000 acre mark. He founded the Commonwealth Brands tobacco company in 1991 and sold the company in 2001 to Houchens Industries for US$1 billion. Roughly equal to: The size of Los Angeles. Dont worry, the Hunts dont just own land to raise cattle, breed horses and grow hay, corn, citrus, grains and sugar. 33 - North Carolina Thomas OConnor started digging artesian wells for his cattle during the drought of the 1880s, but hit oil as often as water. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. Not that were keeping score, but the W.T.