Some of the links on this site are affiliate links.
Land is the ultimate commodity. While it might seem endless, there is a limited quantity of land that has no way of growing in inventory.
The total land surface of the entire earth is approximately 57,308,800 square miles. That’s a jaw-dropper for sure, but let’s take a closer look.
Of this total, about 35% is desert, and 25% are mountains, leaving more than half of the earth’s surface virtually uninhabitable. If you do the math, that whittles the square miles down to about 16 billion square acres.
Let’s break this down further. There are approximately 7.7 billion people in the world, based on 2000 calculations. Divide the total square miles of land by the sheer number of people, and each person would own about 1,000 square feet. This is a tiny plot of land.
But this does not take into account lakes, rivers, roads, and other public structures such as schools, shopping centers, hospitals, housing developments and more.
In case you’re wondering, the largest country in the world is Russia, which encompasses 11 percent of the world’s total land mass. The country includes 58,000,000 square miles.
Now that you have some awareness of the outrageous value of land and its inability to be reproduced, let’s look at some of the world’s largest land owners, many of which may surprise you! You may also be surprised that many of the largest landowners in the world are from Australia. Ok, let's dive in!
1. The Family Of Queen Elizabeth II Of Great Britain
6,750,000,000
2. The Catholic Church
177,000,000
3. The Inuit People In Nanuvut, Northern Canada
87,500,000
4. Gina Rinehar
22,700,000
5. Farmland In China
22,500,000
6. Joe Lewis And His Shareholders
15,500,000
7. MacLachlan Family
12,500,000
8. The Handbury Group
12,000,000
9. The Williams Family
10,000,000
10. The Costello And Oldfield Families
7,500,000
11. Handelsbanken Shareholders
6,400,000
12. Mondi Group Shareholders
5,000,000
1. The Family Of Queen Elizabeth II Of Great Britain
Although recently deceased, the Queen’s royal family will inherit the leadership, which makes them the technical owners of the country.
The total size of the British Commonwealth is an astounding 6.75 Billion acres.
2. The Catholic Church
This entity holds approximately 177 Million acres or 70 million hectares in countries across the globe. While this number may be surprising, it begins to make sense with the consideration of the number of churches and schools the Catholic Church owns. There are roughly 220,000 parishes worldwide alone.
In addition to churches, schools, and other physical properties, the church also owns farmland and other real estate throughout Italy.
3. The Inuit People In Nanuvut, Northern Canada
These indigenous people, known in the US as eskimos, living in the arctic own 87.5 Million acres.
This land was deeded to the people in the Nanuvut Land Claims Agreement Act with the Canadian government. Much of this land would be considered uninhabitable, however the Inuit families have no trouble living in the arctic.
Rinehart is Australia’s richest person in the country, and also the number one private landowner. In 2012, she was also the richest woman in the world.
Her holdings include 22.7 Million acres used for mining operations and wagyu beef.
She owns roughly 1.2% of Australia's total landmass.
The Mudanjiang City mega farm in China is owned by the country’s Zhongding Dairy Farming business.
The 22.5 million acres of dairy farmland is approximately the size of the country of Portugal, and houses more than 100,000 cows that produce 800 million liters of milk on an annual basis.
6. Joe Lewis And His Shareholders
Owners of The Australian Agriculture Company own 15.5 Million acres.The company is actually Australia's longest standing agricultural company, whichwas established way back in 1825.
The land is primarily used for cattle farming. The largest shareholder in this company is the Joe Lewis, who is number 12 on the list of the richest people in the UK.
7. MacLachlan Family
This is another Australia-based farming business purchased in 1888 that is now wholly owned by the descendants.
Known as the Jumback Pastoral Company, the farmland includes 12.5 Million acres and is a major supplier of wool.
8. The Handbury Group
The company owns and operates a cattle station and cattle property known as The Swinging Shovel in South Australia and The Rises in the western part of the country.
Total land ownership is 12 Million acres.
9. The Williams Family
This enormous cattle company is the largest working cattle station in the world, clocking in at over 10 Million acres.
It all began with Reg, Ron, and Bill Williams in 1967. They first purchased Nilpinna in southern Australia. Since, they have acquired 6 more pastoral land properties. The company is proud to st
10. The Costello And Oldfield Families
Just five years ago, the two families entered a joint venture to buy a cattle farm in Southern Australia.
The property, known as the Crown Point Pastoral Company, encompasses 7.5 Million acres.
11. Handelsbanken Shareholders
Swedish financial group, owns the Swedish Cellulose Company, which holds roughly 6.4 Million acresor 2.6 million hectares.
The company is actually the largest private owner of forestry land in Europe with its ownership found in northern Sweden. They employ roughly 3,600 individuals.
12. Mondi Group Shareholders
One of the world’s foremost packaging and paper companies, manages 5 Million aces in Southern Africa and Russia.The land is primarily forestry land.
The company employs roughly 21,000 people with around 100 production sites found in more than 30 countries.
Conclusion
The one thing in common for the owners of the most land in the world is this: farming. The moguls are using their land to produce everything from milk to wool. Rinehart, number 6 on the list, is in the mining business.
These ultra-wealthy families could invest the lion’s share of their money in many other assets: stocks and bonds, precious jewels or metals, but they overwhelmingly buy farmland.
This is a win-win for the moguls and the world’s growing population.
After gaining permission from the Vatican, Burhans underwent a comprehensive of bringing the Church into the 21st century. A live database provides a visual of all its land holdings. Conclusion: The Catholic Church owns the most land, far more than McDonald's and billionaire Bill Gates.
After gaining permission from the Vatican, Burhans underwent a comprehensive of bringing the Church into the 21st century. A live database provides a visual of all its land holdings. Conclusion: The Catholic Church owns the most land, far more than McDonald's and billionaire Bill Gates.
American billionaires are buying large ranches across Wyoming, Montana and Texas, creating a new class of luxury assets, writes Bloomberg. Why it matters: The wealthy are often buying the land from "asset-rich, cash poor" small farmers whose families have owned the land for decades.
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 year's edition of the Land Report 100, an annual survey of the nation's largest landowners.
The federal government owns about 640 million acres (2.6 million km2) of land in the United States, about 28% of the total land area of 2.27 billion acres (9.2 million km2).
How much land does McDonald's own? The company owns about 45% of the land and 70% of the buildings at their 36,000+ locations (the rest is leased). It's a brilliant strategy. Being able to collect on rents helps insulate them from the ups and downs of the business of flippin' burgers.
Financial statements from 2021 show that the Institute for the Works of Religion, also known as the Vatican Bank, earned a net profit of 18.1 million euros and had a total of roughly 2.8 billion euros in assets, which amounts to more than $3 billion after adjusting for inflation.
Popes usually get paid hendsomely, the current wage he gets is $32,000 on a monthly basis but he refused to get any of that money. Instead, Pope Francis decided to either donate this money to the church, use it to endow a foundation, placed in trust or pass it on to a family member.
King Ranch, largest ranch in the United States, composed of a group of four tracts of land in southeastern Texas, totaling approximately 825,000 acres (333,800 hectares). The King Ranch was established by Richard King, a steamboat captain born in 1825 in Orange county, New York.
The largest real estate company in the USA is Coldwell Banker. Founded in 1906, Coldwell Banker has over 100 years of experience buying and selling homes that they share with the people they work for. It has a total of 3000 offices and even exists in more than 49 countries.
The top 10 richest families in 2022 by estimated wealth are: The Walton family with $224.5 billion. The Mars family with $160 billion. The Koch family with $128.8 billion.
The richest 1% own almost half of the world's wealth, while the poorest half of the world own just 0.75% In fact, they have acquired nearly twice as much wealth in new money as the bottom 99% of the world's population.
MANSA MUSA. Mansa Musa (1280–1337) is often referred to as the wealthiest person in history. Even though no man could ever count his wealth, experts believe that it was as much as $400 trillion.
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.
The best states for farmland include Montana, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, North Dakota, Texas, Iowa, Kentucky, Wyoming, and California. Consider factors like profitability, cost of operation, infrastructure, and availability when selecting a location.
High net worth investors typically keep millions of dollars or even tens of millions in cash in their bank accounts to cover bills and unexpected expenses. Their balances are often way above the $250,000 FDIC insured limit.
Farm operator households have more wealth than the average U.S. household because significant capital assets, like farmland and equipment, are generally necessary to operate a successful farm business. In 2021, the average U.S. farm household had $2,100,879 in wealth.
Gates has never spoken on camera about why his investment firms are buying so much farmland. But he did say on a social media "Ask me anything" session when somebody asked, "Hey Bill! Why are you buying so much farmland?" His answer: "The agriculture sector is important.
The United States had 895.3 million acres of land in farms in 2021. The United States had 895.3 million acres of land in farms in 2021. Texas had the most land in farms in the United States in 2021 followed by Montana and Kansas. Texas accounted for more than 14% of the land in farms in the United States in 2021.
The largest landowner in Colorado is John Malone, with 270,000 acres, He is the second largest landowner in the United States with 2.2 million acres of property.
The BLM holds the coal mineral estate to more than 570 million acres (2,300,000 km2) where the owner of the surface is the federal government, a state or local government, or a private entity.
Which States Have the Most State Parks? California has the most state parks in the country, with 270. There are a total of 3,729 state parks in the United States, with 11 states having more than 100 state parks each.
As the largest non-governmental landowner in the world, the Catholic Church has amassed a diverse and global portfolio of parishes, schools, monasteries, cemeteries, hospitals, and more—combining to an estimated 177 million acres.
As of March 2022, the Crown Estate reported almost $19 billion in assets. Its holdings include over 287,000 acres of agricultural land and forests, various retail properties across the U.K., almost all of Regent Street, and about 55 percent of U.K. foreshore.
1. The Family Of Queen Elizabeth II Of Great Britain. Although recently deceased, the Queen's royal family will inherit the leadership, which makes them the technical owners of the country. The total size of the British Commonwealth is an astounding 6.75 Billion acres.
Cardinals who work at the Vatican and live there or in Rome are believed to get salaries of about 4,000 to 5,000 euros ($4,730 to $5,915) a month, and many live in large apartments at well below market rents.
Saudi Aramco, the world's richest company, is more profitable than Italy, Brazil, Canada and Russia. The UK's richest corporations have a larger market cap than Belgium, Sweden and Thailand.
The role of the Vatican Bank is perhaps the most controversial and little-understood part of the Vatican's finances. Also known as the Institute for the Works of Religion, the Vatican Bank is a private bank located in Vatican City founded by Pope Pius XII in 1942.
A cardinal would have the task of putting his hand up the hole to check whether the pope had testicl*s, or doing a visual examination. This procedure is not taken seriously by most historians, and there is no documented instance.
Compared to other world leaders, the Pope travels with a relatively modest entourage of about 30 people. Nor does he keep a private jet. Since regular papal visits outside of Italy became a regular affair, the Vatican usually charters a plane for the Pope's travels.
Joe's 382,834 acres brings the church's Florida holdings to 672,834 acres, or almost 2 percent of the state's land mass. The total does not include smaller isolated church parcels for its Orlando and South Florida temples and other interests. St.
The Mormon church through its subsidiaries now owns nearly 2 percent of Florida with the completion Thursday of a $562 million purchase of more than 382,000 acres in North Florida's Panhandle region. The megapurchase of most of the timberland holdings of real-estate developer St. Joe Co. was announced in November.
1. Lykes Ranch. For over 100 years, the Lykes Brothers have led the Florida agricultural business. Their operation began with only 500 acres but is now over 600,000, consisting of cattle, farming, forestry, hunting, resource management, and citrus.
King Ranch is the largest ranch in the United States. At some 825,000 acres (3,340 km2; 1,289 sq mi) it is larger than the state of Rhode Island and country of Luxembourg. It is mainly a cattle ranch, but also produced the Triple Crown winning racehorse Assault.
Donald Bren, chair of Southern California-based Irvine Company, is the wealthiest American real estate titan, just cracking the top 100 (#97) with a $17.4 billion fortune, an increase of $1.2 billion from last year.
At the top, Orange County, California-based Donald Bren remains the wealthiest real estate billionaire in the country with an estimated $16.2 billion net worth, nearly $1 billion higher than last year.
They are both real estate empires rarely framed as such, though McDonald's estimated 42,000-acre holding is paltry compared to the Catholic Church's 200-million-acre footprint.
Donald Bren, chair of Southern California-based Irvine Company, is the wealthiest American real estate titan, just cracking the top 100 (#97) with a $17.4 billion fortune, an increase of $1.2 billion from last year.
Conversation. The world's biggest landowner is Queen Elizabeth II, who legally owns about 16.6% of the Earth's land surface area. She's the only person on Earth who owns multiple countries.
Canadian investors lead this pack, by a long shot, with nearly 9.4 million acres of U.S. land — more acreage than 44 of the top 50 foreign landowners combined, according to the report. (These people own the most land in America.)
The largest country in the world is Russia with a total area of 17,098,242 Km² (6,601,665 mi²) and a land area of 16,376,870 Km² (6,323,142 mi²), equivalent to 11% of the total world's landmass of 148,940,000 Km² (57,510,000 square miles).
She is Queen of 32 countries, head of a Commonwealth of 54 countries in which a quarter of the world's population lives, and legal owner of about 6.6 billion acres of land, one-sixth of the earth's land surface.
The largest real estate company in the world is Keller Williams Realty, with a revenue of $381.4 billion. As of 2023, the global real estate industry has a market size of $4.4 trillion. Over 5.8 million housing transactions were completed in the U.S. in 2022.
At the top, Orange County, California-based Donald Bren remains the wealthiest real estate billionaire in the country with an estimated $16.2 billion net worth, nearly $1 billion higher than last year.
1. The One, Los Angeles, California | Most Expensive Houses. The One, which took eight years to create, has surpassed all other pricey mansions in the US to claim the top rank. Nile Niami's modern masterpiece, this private mansion is situated on a five-acre site in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California.
Billionaire, businessman and the chairman and chief executive of LVMH (LVMUY), Bernard Arnault holds the crown as the richest person in the world. According to Forbes, Arnault has a fortune of $217.9 billion.
There is no single individual or entity that owns the Earth. The Earth is a shared living space for all living beings, and it belongs to all of us equally. The concept of owning land or property is a human construct created for the purpose of managing resources and facilitating trade.
The history of federal land ownership has been largely one of divestiture and public use, not acquisition. As the United States expanded across the continent, it did so by purchasing or taking the land that became new states. (Among the groups it took land from were Native Americans.)
Address: Suite 490 606 Hammes Ferry, Carterhaven, IL 62290
Phone: +8557035444877
Job: Forward IT Agent
Hobby: Fishing, Flying, Jewelry making, Digital arts, Sand art, Parkour, tabletop games
Introduction: My name is Otha Schamberger, I am a vast, good, healthy, cheerful, energetic, gorgeous, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
