It can be sold as a property (or multiple properties), it can be used to produce things that people buy, or it can be rented out, like much of the farmland in the United States. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'askbamland_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_5',106,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-askbamland_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); While farmland, and land in general, will undergo economic factors and changes to demand, it is very likely to increase in value as the years roll by. Public records suggest Cascade Investments has bought its farmland through a web of at least 22 limited liability shell companies across the country. A few years ago, Bill Gates has announced plans to build a smart city outside of Buckeye in Arizona. Our exposure to Invitation Homes is owning its stock in mutual funds we manage, not buying houses w/ them, BlackRock tweeted. , said his investment group was behind the purchases, and suggested it was linked to seed and biofuel development. Adjusted for inflation, average farm real estate values have generally risen since 1993, growing from less than $1,500 an acre in the mid-90s to over $3,000 an acre in 2020, according to the USDA. Since then, weve sold to dozens of people from ATV weekend warriors to camping enthusiasts to retired truck drivers. There is only a certain amount of land available on earth. CLAIM: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates owns the majority of Americas farmland and the investment firm BlackRock holds the majority of single family houses in the country. To put that into perspective, thats nearly the size of Hong Kong and twice the acreage of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, where Im an enrolled member. But billionaire class assertions that they are philosopher kings and climate-conscious investors who know better than the original caretakers are little more than ruses for what amounts to a 21st century land grab with big payouts in a for-profit economy seeking green solutions. Although the sale price has never been made public, the 492-acre home was listed for $8.9 millionand we cant imagine Bill and Melinda doing much haggling. Gates is now America's largest private farmland owner, with hundreds of thousands of acres spanning across 19 U.S. states, according to the Land Report. The agriculture sector is important, he wrote. 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There farmers primarily grow soybeans, rice, corn and cotton. All that farming has led to large water withdrawals from Florida's aquifer system and requires fertilizer, which leaches through the ground into waterways, emptying nitrogen that has led to destructive algae blooms and severe loss of fish and marsh habitats. The map shows a 242,000 acre square situated over New York. He now owns more farmland than my entire Native American nation. A 6,300-acre farm owned by Bill Gates in Madison County could become the site of one of the nation's largest solar farms. 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. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'askbamland_com-leader-1','ezslot_8',107,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-askbamland_com-leader-1-0'); Even if you buy the land with the purpose of selling it at a later time when the area undergoes more development, you can still use the land in the meantime. The value depends on a lot of factors including location, type of land, acreage, supply, demand, and more. It may even be easier to sell smaller lots than it would be to market the entire portion of land that you invest in. The principal danger of private farmland owners like Bill Gates is not their professed support of sustainable agriculture often found in philanthropic work its the monopolistic role they play in determining our food systems and land use patterns. This will always be true, no matter where the land is. Nor does he put in the back-breaking labor humble people do to grow our food and who get far less praise for it. While he owns nearly half of the Four Season Holding's hotel chain through Cascade, he also has partial ownership of Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Almost 300,000 acres is a lot of land for one family or private individual to own, but it's still just a. I mean, it is unlikely that one of the richest people in the world would invest in something that wasnt a good investment, right? Our exposure to Invitation Homes is owning its stock in mutual funds we manage, not buying houses w/ them,. So what is this guy planning? if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'askbamland_com-box-4','ezslot_4',104,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-askbamland_com-box-4-0'); Well, why would you think that a billionaire would want to own land? As more and more land becomes developed, less and less raw land is available, which potentially increases the value as demand remains the same or even increases. When pressed during a book discussion on Reddit about why hes gobbling up so much farmland, Gates claimed, It is not connected to climate [change]. The decision, he said, came from his investment group. Cascade Investment, the firm making these acquisitions, is controlled by Gates. The conservation of lands is important, he said. With more productive seeds we can avoid deforestation and help Africa deal with the climate difficulty they already face. His land ownership spans across 19 states. This could allow you to sell or lease the individual lots of land on the property. According to the Land Report in 2021, the Gateses had 242,000 acres of farmland, 1,234 acres or recreational land, and 25,750 acres of land that was in transition from farmland to residential and . The Microsoft co-founder and his former wife, Melinda, are the top farmland owners in. Gates diversified his investment portfolio through land ownership, but why? According to the Land Report 100 Research Team, that figure is currently more than twice that amount, which means Bill Gates, cofounder of Microsoft, has an alter ego: Farmer Bill, the guy who owns more farmland than anyone else in America. Our inventory spans mostly in the western United States. The Microsoft co-founder faced several claims that he owned a majority of Americas farmland earlier this year. But he didn't, Quarterman said. According to landreport.com, the Gates family has a total of 242,000 in farmland acreage in the United States. BILL Gates' $80billion property empire now hangs in the balance after he and his wife of 27 years announced they are divorcing. The 229-acre property was once home to Jenny Craig, founder of the Jenny Craig nutrition company, and was purchased by the Gates with hopes that it would one day be where their daughter Jennifer could train for her equestrian career. The 1862 Homestead Act opened up 270m acres of Indigenous territory which amounts to 10% of US land for white settlement. 4. That makes Invitation Homes the, largest operator of single-family rental homes in the country, but still represents, BlackRock also suggested it was being confused for the similarly-named i. nvestment management firm Blackstone, which until recently owned Invitation Homes. Gates-affiliated ownership covers vast swaths of farm and timberland, estimated to be 69,071 acres in all by niche land ownership publication The Land Repor t. Across the nation, Gates'. There are also ways to generate passive income on the land without selling it because you can lease the land or sell the mineral rights, among other methods. The land that Gates owns is located in several states and consists primarily of commercial farmland. Bill and Melinda have purchased numerous properties in Wellington, Florida, over the years. Gates' achievement, according to the report, is that he's largest private owner of farmland in the US. While he owns a significant amount, it is a relatively small slice of the nations nearly 900 million total farm acres. Someone else is owning that asset, whether it's rented equipment or land. (Matt Odom / for NBC News), Image: John Quarterman (Matt Odom / for NBC News), Image: Philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda listen to the speech by French President Francois Hollande, prior to being awarded Commanders of the Legion of Honor at the Elysee Palace in Paris (Kamil Zihnioglu / Pool via Reuters), American businessman and philanthropist (born 1955). Estate in Indian Wells, California: $12.5 Million. Gates portfolio comprises about 242,000 acres of farmland and nearly 27,000 acres of other land across 19 states, according to The Land Report, a magazine for land investors that tracks the nations biggest landowners. Farmland can be an investment in several ways. You can read more about us, here. The Gates family currently [] Through Sierra Pacific, the family owns some 2 million acres in California and Washington. Now Bill Gates appears to have acquired a slice of their tiny city, and locals near. Do whatever you want to with the land as the value increases. What Is The Banking Process To Buy Raw Land, Price Of Agricultural Land In The Philippines. Bill Gates owns more private farmland in the US than anyone else, an analysis by The Land Report found. As the population grows in large cities, some people will inevitably want to move to the country. Land is power, land is wealth, and, more importantly, land is about race and class. The land is owned both directly and indirectly by Cascade Investment, the Seattle-area firm that Gates the worlds third-richest man with a net worth of $132 billion, according to Bloomberg set up to manage his massive fortune, according to The Land Report. The land that Bill Gates owns is used to grow soybeans, corn, cotton, and rice over 70,000 acres in northern Louisiana. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File ), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Bill Gates acquired six parcels of land in Pembina County. Some of that land, including nearly 300 acres, was sold in 2019 to the California-based Grimmway Farms, the worlds largest carrot producer. The billionaire knows best mentality detracts from the deep-seated realities of colonialism and white supremacy, and it ignores those who actually know best how to use and live with the land. - Bill and Melinda Gates are taking on the new title of the biggest farmland owners in the United States, with a good chunk of that ownership being in Arkansas. In 2014, Cascade Investments combined both of those companies and the land into Generations Farms, which continued to grow vegetables. retail, office buildings, hotels and apartment complexes, rather than single-family homes, but he declined to provide a breakdown. Bill Gates was quietly becoming the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Here is an overview of all of the property the couple owned together at the time of their divorce: Bill and Melinda dont publicly discuss this topic often, but they are the top owners of farmland in the U.S. With some 242,000 acres, the estimated value of their farmland is in the billions. It can be used for residential development, commercial projects, industrial zoning, public or semi-public use, agriculture, or right of way (a way for others to access a different piece of land or portion of the land). The billionaire couple, in less than a decade, have accumulated more than 269,000 acres of farmland across 18 states, more than the entire acreage of New York City. *According to figures compiled by The Land Report in 2019. Back in January, US magazine The Land Report revealed that Bill and Melinda Gates have amassed the largest portfolio of private farmland in the US, comprising an estimated 242,000 acres. Marjorie Taylor Greene SHAMES Former . You can also fill out the contact form below if you are interested in buying or selling land. Bill Gates: America's Top Farmland Owner | The Land Report. He is also the chairman and largest stakeholder of Liberty Media, possessing 28% of Discovery Communications, which was acquired by Scripps Network for $14.6billion. Land holds ample opportunities for growth and development, yet you may find that there is more land than there is competition. And not all the renters are local. Agriculture is also a key focus area for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the massive charity run by Gates and his wife.