{"id":1550249,"date":"2025-08-01T01:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T05:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1550249"},"modified":"2025-08-01T01:20:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T05:20:00","slug":"these-are-americas-25-largest-private-landowners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/these-are-americas-25-largest-private-landowners\/1550249\/","title":{"rendered":"These Are America’s 25 Largest Private Landowners"},"content":{"rendered":"

These Are America’s 25 Largest Private Landowners<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The U.S. is known for its massive\u00a0public national parks<\/a>, but a handful of families and entrepreneurs also own tracts of land that would dwarf some states.<\/p>\n

This infographic, via Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte, <\/a>ranks America\u2019s 25\u00a0largest private landowners<\/strong>\u00a0in 2025 and shows just how concentrated ownership has become.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The data for this visualization comes from\u00a0The Land Report<\/a>, which annually tracks the nation\u2019s biggest deed holders. Its 2025 investigations reveals a timber-heavy top tier, diversified ranching empires in the middle, and a sprinkling of tech titans and investors rounding out the list.<\/em><\/p>\n

Timber Kings Still Rule the Landowner List<\/h2>\n

Red Emmerson and his family control 2.44 million acres across California, Oregon, and Washington, making them America\u2019s largest private landowners in 2025.<\/p>\n

For reference, this is more than 3x Rhode Island\u2019s land area.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Three of the top five landowners\u2014Emmerson, Malone, and the Reed family\u2014built (or expanded) their holdings in\u00a0commercial forestry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Timber acres offer steady cash flow, long-term capital appreciation, and valuable carbon-offset potential, which helps explain why Wall Street has shown renewed interest in forests.<\/p>\n

These vast, contiguous tracts also give owners leverage in biodiversity markets and provide a hedge against inflation, making timberland an attractive multigenerational asset.<\/p>\n

Ranching Dynasties Hold Their Ground<\/h2>\n

Names such as Ted Turner (founder of Turner Broadcasting), Stan Kroenke (owner of the LA Rams and Denver Nuggets), and King Ranch have also become synonymous with\u00a0American ranching<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While cattle remains the backbone, many of these families have diversified into hunting leases, wind-energy easements, and conservation tourism.<\/p>\n

Ted Turner, for example, manages the world\u2019s largest private bison herd across 45,000 of his 2 million acres, while the Kroenke and Briscoe estates stretch from the Great Plains to the Rockies.<\/p>\n

Tech Moguls Join the U.S. Landowning Elite<\/h2>\n

The 2025 ranking also features several self-made billionaires from outside natural-resource industries.<\/p>\n

Jeff Bezos<\/strong>\u00a0owns more than 460,000 acres\u00a0in West Texas<\/a>, where Blue Origin tests rockets and ranching remains active.<\/p>\n

Thomas Peterffy<\/strong>, the digital-trading pioneer, has quietly assembled 647,000 acres, making him the largest landowner in Florida.<\/p>\n

Also not while on this list,\u00a0Bill Gates<\/strong>\u00a0(#43) is the largest farmland owner in the U.S., with 270,000 acres.<\/p>\n

The presence of these tech titans illustrates a broader trend. Tech fortunes are increasingly finding refuge\u2014and strategic opportunity\u2014in hard assets like land, influenced by climate concerns, privacy, and long-term stewardship motives.<\/p>\n

If you enjoyed today\u2019s post, check out\u00a0The Top 15 Countries by Land Area<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Voronoi<\/strong>, the new app from Visual Capitalist.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nThu, 07\/31\/2025 – 21:20<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/personal-finance\/these-are-americas-25-largest-private-landowners<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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