Fact Check-Bill Gates doesn’t own most U.S. farmland; BlackRock doesn’t own most houses (2024)

FAQs

Who owns most of America's farmland? ›

People own most farmland. Some 2.6 million owners are individuals or families, and they own more than two thirds of all farm acreage. Fewer than 32,500 non family held corpor ations own farmland, and they own less than 5 percent of all U.S. farmland. Farmland owners hold an aver age of about 280 acres each.

Some of the world's biggest billionaires are landowners, such as media mogul Ted Turner who owns 2 million acres, Amazon.com's AMZN, +0.17% CEO Jeff Bezos who has amassed 420,000 acres and Microsoft MSFT, -0.64% co-founder Bill Gates's 270,000 acres, he notes.

China owns roughly 384,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land, according to a 2021 report from the Department of Agriculture. Of that, 195,000 acres, worth almost $2 billion when purchased, are owned by 85 Chinese investors, which could be individuals, companies or the government.

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.

Small Family Farms Make Up Almost 90%

Bill and Melinda Gates — prior to their divorce — accumulated roughly 270,000 acres of farmland in less than a decade. Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos has amassed 420,000 acres in recent years.

Bezos owns 420,000 acres. Much of his land is in West Texas.

China's outstanding foreign debt, including US dollar debt, reached US$2.29 trillion at the end of September in 2020, up from US$2.13 trillion at the end of June, according to China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

How much US farmland does Saudi Arabia own? ›

The Middle Eastern kingdom needs hay for its 170,000 cows. So, it's buying up farmland for the water-chugging crop in the drought-stricken American Southwest.

Foreign investors are not allowed to buy land in China. The land in China belongs to the state and the collectives.

Members of the Stanley family now work for Generations. In north Louisiana, the Gateses' investment firm owns about 70,000 acres of land through at least three other shell companies. There farmers primarily grow soybeans, rice, corn and cotton.

Gates invested in Hampton Creek Foods, a startup company working on plant protein based egg substitutes, and has praised Beyond Meat, a meat substitute company. Thiel gave a grant to Modern Meadow, a company using animal stem cells in what it calls "tissue engineering" to create meat and leather via 3D printing.

"What we found is that family-owned businesses, while very diverse, are at the core of the U.S. agriculture industry. In fact, 97 percent of all U.S. farms are family-owned." Food equals family – 97 percent of the 2.1 million farms in the United States are family-owned operations.

The richest farmer in the US is Stewart Resnick, with a net worth of $7.6 billion. He and his wife, Lynda Resnick, own The Wonderful Company, which produces a range of products, including POM Wonderful pomegranate juice, Wonderful Pistachios, and Halos mandarins.

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.

The largest ranch in the world is Anna Creek Station, a cattle ranch operating in Australia. This ranch measures 2,000,000 acres or 3,100 square miles, larger than Israel and the state of New Hampshire. The ranch is located in a very remote part of the country called South Australia.

What is the largest family owned ranch in the United States? ›

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 purchase marks Amazon's second land acquisition in Gilroy. In August 2020, Amazon purchased 66 acres of farmland in Gilroy under its data services subsidiary.

Despite the losses, Musk is well ahead of third-place Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, who is worth $135 billion and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose wealth is estimated at $113.1 billion. On Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, Musk is solidly in first place with a net worth of $171 billion.

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.

Located in the heart of Big Bend Country, Mr Bezos purchased the 141,640-hectare Longfellow Ranch in 2005, NBC News reported. A working cattle ranch that includes the Pinon gasfield, the ranch features a luxurious lodge, a pool and spa.

Who is the owner of the biggest house in the world ? Istana Nurul Iman Palace, the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is the largest house in the world, spread over 2.15 million square feet.

Amazon is owned by a series of entities, with the most influential being its executive chairman, Jeff Bezos. Bezos is the company's largest shareholder, owning about 10% of its stock.

In the mid-2000s, Bezos actually bought more than 150k acres of land just 25 miles away from Van Horn, thinking the land was perfect for designing and testing rocket engines, according to NewsWest9. Bezos also interviewed with a local newspaper back in 2005, where he expressed his desire for land in West Texas.

Does US owe debt to China? ›

Japan and China have been the largest foreign holders of US debt for the last two decades. Japan and China held almost 50% of all foreign-owned US debt between 2004 and 2006. However, this has declined over time, and as of 2022 they controlled approximately 25% of foreign-owned debt.

U.S. debt to China comes in the form of U.S. Treasuries, largely due to their safety and stability. Although there are worries about China selling off U.S. debt, which would hamper economic growth, doing so in large amounts poses risks for China as well, making it unlikely to happen.

The United States, holding the highest national debt globally, has a total of $31.68 trillion, representing a YoY increase of $1.3 trillion or 4.28%, reaching $30.38 trillion. Therefore, China's national debt has surged almost three times that of the United States in the past 12 months.

Vilsack said in a Thursday Senate hearing that Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea together own under 400,000 acres of agricultural land as of 2021.

Found in Ukraine, parts of Russia and the USA, mollisols are some of the world's most fertile soil. This type of soil includes black soils with high organic content. Vertisols – 2.5% of the world's ice-free land.

In 2012, the drought-stricken Western United States will ship more than 50 billion gallons of water to China. This water will leave the country embedded in alfalfa—most of it grown in California— and is destined to feed Chinese cows.

Not only foreign citizens are allowed to buy properties in Russia, but foreign companies are also allowed to buy real estate for commercial use.

In 2021, the average sales price for residential real estate in Shenzhen was over 61.6 thousand yuan per square meters. It was the highest price among all major cities in China. The average price across the country was 16,533 yuan per square meter.

Foreigners can own property in Mexico. It's perfectly legal. Outside the restricted zones—50 kilometers (about 31 miles) from shorelines and 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) from international borders—foreigners can hold direct deed to property with the same rights and responsibilities as Mexican nationals.

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). See also: Most Populous Countries.

Who owns the largest amount of private real estate in the US? ›

1. EMMERSON FAMILY. The nation's largest private landowners, California's Emmerson family, are a prime example of this trend. Through their Sierra Pacific Industries, the Emmersons increased their landholdings by more than 100 square miles to over 2.4 million acres.

Stan Kroenke – 225,162 acres

According to the most current land report, Stan is the fifth-largest land owner in the United States as of 2021.

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.

100 Circle Farms' Story

100 Circle Farms grows potatoes in circles so big they're visible from space. Then our trusted processor, Lamb Weston, cuts them into fries at 70 miles per hour.

Did you know the largest farm in the entire world is bigger than 11 U.S. states? This massive farm dairy farm is located in Heilongjiang, China. Mudanjiang City Mega Farm has over 100,000 dairy cows and covers an impressive 22.5 million acres.

People own most farmland. Some 2.6 million owners are individuals or families, and they own more than two thirds of all farm acreage. Fewer than 32,500 non family held corpor ations own farmland, and they own less than 5 percent of all U.S. farmland.

Bill Gates Loves Pizza, Tandoori Chicken, And Sushi: His 5 Favorite Foods.

The Trust owns around 35 million shares in Berkshire Hathaway — or 2.69% of the total company. If 2.69% of the nearly $144 billion in Apple shares owned by Berkshire Hathaway are owned by the Gates Trust, the pair still owns $3.87 billion of Apple stock.

Of the 1.3 billion acres of private agricultural land in the United States, foreign entities fully or partially owned roughly 40 million acres valued at $74 billion in 2021.

In the United States, 97 percent of all farms and ranches are family owned. Those farms and ranches are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations. Just 3 percent are non-family owned corporations.

What percent of US farmland is privately owned? ›

A majority of U.S. land in farms is owner-operated—just over 60 percent, according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture.

Despite what you may have heard about China's specific influence in purchasing property and agricultural land in the U.S., Canada is still the largest investor, accounting for 8% of foreign investments in U.S. real estate, according to the National Association of Realtors.

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 top 5 U.S. agricultural trading partners accounted for 61 percent of U.S. agricultural exports in 2021. China was the largest market for U.S. agricultural exports in 2021, followed by Canada and Mexico.

Meghalaya has the highest average monthly income per agricultural household: Agri minister. #CHANDIGARH Punjab ranks second in the country in average monthly income per agricultural household.

The top 10 agriculture-producing States in terms of cash receipts in calendar year 2021 were (in descending order): California, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas, Indiana, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

Today, four corporations — Bayer, Corteva, ChemChina and Limagrain — control more than 50% of the world's seeds. These staggering monopolies dominate the global food supply.

Factory Farming in the US: Living Conditions

Nearly 99 percent of farmed animals in the US are factory farmed. There are around 250,000 farms in the US.

“There is no physical difference between a family farm and a corporate farm. Ninety-five percent of farms are family farms just like ours, even though it is considered a corporation. It comes down to another label.

What percent of US land is federally owned? ›

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).