The 25 Biggest Landowners In America (2024)

#25 The Flitner Family owns 300,000 acres

David Flitner is a third-generation Wyoming rancher. He and wife Paula own the Hideout Lodge and Guest Ranch, a working dude ranch, in Shell, Wyo.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#24 The Nunley Family owns 301,500 acres

The Nunley brothers have been in the ranching business for more than 70 years, and specialize in the Santa Gertrudis breed of cow. They own holdings in Texas and New Mexico, includinga major cow-calf operation.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#23 Pat Broe owns 310,000 acres

Broe's investment and asset management company controls over 100 companies in real estate, energy and transportation.

He owns land in many states. Broe's Hubble & Green Ranches in New Mexico cover 290,000 acres. His Colorado’s Great Western Industrial Park became a major source of the state’s green job growth in 2008.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#22 The Collins Family owns 312,188 acres

The privately-owned The Collins Companiesruns timber operations from Pennsylvania to Oregon. Since 2010, they've added around 17,000 acres to their holdings.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#21 The Hughes Family owns 325,000 acres

The family business, Dan A. Hughes Co. is an oil and gas exploration and production company.

The family started investing in land in the 1960s. They own acreage in Texas used primarily for recreation, withparts devoted to commercial hunting and cattle ranching.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#20 Malone Mitchell III owns 350,000 acres

Miller is an oil tycoon and investor who owns Longfellow Ranch is in the Big Bend Country of West Texas, which is known for game and lodging.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#19 Robert Earl Holding owns 400,000 acres

Robert Earl Holding's success began in the oil industry where he owns three refineries and bought Sinclair Oil in 1976.

He has holdings in many states: ranches in Wyoming and Montana; ski resorts in Utah and Idaho; six other luxury hotels and resorts across the country, including The Grand American Hotel in Salt Lake City.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#18 The J.R. Simplot Heirs own 408,663 acres

The J.R. Simplot Company started its fortune in potatoes but diversified over the years to become one of the largest, privately held food companies in the world.

They own agribusiness land in Idaho.The land and livestock division has 37 farms and 15 ranches with capacity for 30,000 mother cows.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#17 The Drummond Family owns 440,076 acres

The Drummonds are a prominent ranching family from Oklahoma. Ree Drummond, who married a fourth-generation family member, is the writer of the popular blog "Confessions of a Pioneer Woman."

They ownOklahoma ranches that have been in the family for over a century.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#16 Phillip Anschutz owns 434,493 acres

Phillip Anschutz's company has investments in energy exploration, telecommunications and agribusiness. His Anschutz Entertainment Group is also the world’s largest owner and operator of sports and entertainment venues.

He owns the250,000-acre Baughman Farms in Kansas; 149,493-acre Overland Trail Cattle Company & Ranch in Wyoming and 35,000 acres in Colorado.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#15 D.M. O’Connor Heirs own 500,000 acres

D.M. O'Connor (pictured) continued to expand the land his father, Thomas O'Connor, was awarded in the Battle of San Jacinto. Oil was discovered on their cattle ranches and today, the O'Connors now own an estimated half-million acres across Southern and Western Texas.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#14 W.T. Waggoner Estate owns 535,000 acres

W.T. Waggoner began expanding his father's ranching interests and established what is known today as the W.T. Waggoner Estate.

The estate owns ranching and farmland throughout Texas.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#13 The Briscoe Family owns 560,000 acres

Former Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe Jr., expanded his holdings when oil and gas were discovered on his ranchland.

The family owns ranchlands and oilfields throughout Texas.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#12 The Lykes Bros. Heirs own 615,000 acres

The Lykes family-owned company began as a cattle ranching operation and has since expanded into bioenergy and farming. They own ranchlands and farms in Texas and Florida.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#11 The Ford Family owns 625,000 acres

The Ford family’s Roseburg Forest Products had its origins in 1936 when the Roseburg Lumber Company was founded by owner Kenneth Ford. They own timberland throughout Oregon and California.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#10 Stan Kroenke owns 740,000 acres

The sports mogul who got his start in real estate recently became the majority owner of the St. Louis Rams.

He owns cow-calf operations on Cedar Creek and PV Ranch in Montana; Q Creek Land & Livestock Company runs up to 12,000 yearlings on 550,000+ acres in Wyoming.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#9 The Reed Family owns 770,000 acres

After Mark Reed married the daughter of Sol Simpson at the turn of the century, the Reed family continues to operate the privately owned Simpson Investment Company, one of the oldest forest products companies in the Pacific Northwest.

They own770,000 acres of timber across California, Oregon, and Washington.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#8 The Pingree Heirs own 830,000 acres

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.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#7 King Ranch owns 911,215 acres

King Ranch operates 825,000 acres of cattle ranches and 60,000 acres of farms in South Texas, and thousands of acres in Florida producing orange juice, sugar cane, sod, sweet corn and green beans.

Primary revenue for King Ranch remains ranching and farming but it has also expanded into publishing, retail and eco-tourism.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#6 The Singleton Family owns 1.11 million acres

Henry Singleton amassed his wealth in digital technology before purchasing the San Cristobal Ranch in 1986.The Singleton family's holdings are comprised of ranches across California and New Mexico, including the picturesque San Cristobal Ranch outside of Santa Fe.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#5 The Irving Family owns 1.2 million acres

The Canadian company, Irving Woodlands, has roots dating back to 1882 when James D. Irving founded a company that included a sawmill, gristmill, lumber business and farms. Their US landholdings are centered in Maine.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#4 Brad Kelley owns 1.5 million acres

Kelley founded a tobacco company in 1990 and sold it for $1 billion in 2001.Hisproperties span Texas, New Mexico, and Florida and are used to breed rare species of animals.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#3 Archie Aldis 'Red' Emmerson owns 1.84 million acres

Red Emmerson is president of Sierra Pacific Industries, a family-run lumber manufacturing business that ranks as California's largest private landowner. He owns just under two million acres of forestland in California and Washington, adding over 100,000 acres in 2011.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#2 Ted Turner owns 2 million+ acres

Ted Turner founded the Turner Broadcasting System that launched CNN and several other cable successful programs.

He owns2 million acres in 12 states and Argentina. The 8,800-acre Nonami Plantation known for quail hunting is his most recent and largest acquisition in his home state of Georgia.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

#1 John Malone owns 2.2 million acres

Malone has served in executive positions in telecommunications firms and is currently the chairman of Liberty Media Corp.

Henabbed the top spot from his friend and business partner Ted Turner in 2011 when he purchased a million acres of woods in Maine and New Hampshire. The splurge followed his purchase of 290,000-acre Bell Ranch in New Mexico the previous year.

Data published with permission from The Land Report.

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