The outlet reported this week that Gates, 65, owns 268,984 acres of. Fact Check-Bill Gates doesn't own most U.S. farmland - Reuters When Bill Gates, or whatever other investment arm owns the land, a farmer still needs to farm it. AP'S ASSESSMENT: False. The farmland was purchased through a constellation of companies that all link back to the couples investment group, Cascade Investments, based in Kirkland, Washington. Malone's 2.2 million acres are largely located in Maine, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming and include profitable cattle ranches. Purchased fromMadeleine Pickens, the former wife of Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens, the property deal is one of the largest ever recorded in the area,The Wall Street Journalreported. Kroenke is married to Ann Walkton Kroenke, an heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times) (Ruth Fremson / The New York Times via Redux Pictures), John Quarterman on his farm in Lowndes County, Ga. (Matt Odom / for NBC News), John Quarterman stands by the Withlacoochee River. That program ensures agriculture on the land is audited to meet standards, like soil health and water management, created by the nonprofit Leading Harvest, which counts one of the subsidiaries of Gates investment firm as a partner. Bill Gates has invested in various high-profile commercial properties through his personal investment company, Cascade. If not for climate, then why is Bill Gates buying so much farmland? Some of that land, including nearly 300 acres, was sold in 2019 to the California-based Grimmway Farms, the worlds largest carrot producer. 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. Bill Gates is buying up the majority of American farmland and BlackRock is buying the majority of single family houses but Im supposed to believe the biggest threat to us is Elon Musk buying Twitter? read one representative tweet thats been liked or shared on the platform more than 250,000 times. Stan Kroenke: Land area: 1.4 million acres. According to 2021 article from the Land Report, a magazine about land ownership, Gates owns approximately 242,000 . Farmland offers a strategy that is completely separated from his other wealth and investments. Our exposure to Invitation Homes is owning its stock in mutual funds we manage, not buying houses w/ them,. Brittany has been in the land business since 2020 when the world was starting to shut down. In other words, when the economy is struggling, the value of farmland generally doesnt depreciate. - 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. But Zehren of Cascade noted that the firm has been working in Florida and elsewhere to promote ecologically conscious agriculture and that it plans to continue to evaluate its farmland portfolio to improve its overall sustainability. Bill Gates owns more private farmland in the US than anyone else, an analysis by The Land Report found.His 242,000 acres of farmland stretch across 18 states Bill Gates owns farmland in 18 states . There farmers primarily grow soybeans, rice, corn and cotton. The area off Interstate 10, called Belmont, has space for 80,000 homes as well as more than 4,000 acres for schools, offices, and stores; and 3,400 acres of open space. He now owns more farmland than my entire Native American nation. Bill Gates Approved to Buy Acres of Farmland in North Dakota - IJR The Associated Press reports that last week, billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates was cleared to purchase 2,100 acres of rural North Dakota farmland. We've received your submission. 2,167 acres. Bill Gates has never been a farmer. Farm Gates - Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal Bill Gates: America's Top Farmland Owner | The Land Report. The land that Gates owns is located in several states and consists primarily of commercial farmland. Some raw land may even be as affordable as a few thousand dollars, which can be an affordable and cost-effective investment strategy (or just a place to use for personal reasons). Its a hedging strategy, said Daniel Bigelow, a professor of agricultural economics at Montana State University, who previously served as a USDA research economist. | Chuck Collins, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Land is power, land is wealth, and, more importantly, land is about race and class. 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. An NBC News analysis also identified Gates as the largest farmland owner in the US. Black, Mexican, Asian, and Native people, of course, were categorically excluded from the benefits of a federal program that subsidized and protected generations of white wealth. There, on Gates parcels, an industrial farm grows potatoes for McDonalds french fries. It may even be easier to sell smaller lots than it would be to market the entire portion of land that you invest in. A few years ago, Bill Gates has announced plans to build a smart city outside of Buckeye in Arizona. Bill Gates is now the largest private landowner in the country. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates finally revealed the reasons behind his massive purchase of farmland: seed science and biofuel development. Gates shares 95% of the ownership with Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Adding to the confusion, Blackstone was once a major investor in BlackRock, but sold off its stake in the 1990s. 23:06 GMT 15 Jan 2021 Reed family: Land area: 1.7 million acres. Adding to the confusion, Blackstone was once a major investor in BlackRock, but sold off its stake in the 1990s. Does Bill Gates Own the Majority of US Farmland? | Snopes.com He added: 'In addition, the states oldest winery, Chateau Ste. Social media users are falsely claiming that Gates owns the majority of U.S. farmland. Cascade declined to comment on its specific land holdings. Gates . While land is a limited resource, there is still less competition for raw land than there is with residential and commercial real estate. The biggest chunks of Gates holdings are in Louisiana and Arkansas, where he owns 69,071 acres and 47,927 acres, respectively, the outlets research found. With more productive seeds we can avoid deforestation and help Africa deal with the climate difficulty they already face. Someone else is building that equity on their back, said Johnathan Hladik, the policy director at the Center for Rural Affairs, who is also a farmer in Nebraska. 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. Bill and Melinda Gates' divorce puts massive farmland holdings in focus That land is now largely rented out to various farmers. The Gates Rancho Santa Fe estate was purchased in 2014 because of its horse stables and proximity to a local race horse track. 4 But they're just renting it. Bill Gates is investing big in American farmland | Crosscut Bill Gates Is America's Largest Private Owner of Farmland - Breitbart America's leading landowners added hundreds of thousands of acres to their holdings last year. While he owns a significant amount, it is a relatively small slice of the nations nearly 900 million total farm acres. 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. Bill Gates' 242,000 Acres of Farmland Could Be Split in Divorce Bill Gates has secured legal approval for his North Dakota farmland purchase But the deal drew scrutiny under a 1932 anti-corporate farm ownership law Now state AG says the deal is legal, because . He hoped Gates would have invested in different farming techniques that could help turn around the ecological damages from big agriculture. of the richest people in the country, owns less than one percent of the nations total farmland. Bill Gates Called Out By Farmer For Secretly Buying Up US Farmland: 'I The farmland real estate investment trust (REIT) Farmland Partners, which owns 156,500 acres in 16 US states, has seen its traded value more than double since November and is trading near an. 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. Bill Gates may be trading his pocket protector for cowboy boots. Since 2017 he reportedly holds a significant stake in 24,800 acres of land on the west side of Phoenix. Both companies were founded in 2012 with the same address as Cascade Investments in Kirkland, which later changed its mailing address to a Louisiana post office box assigned to Oak River Farms, another subsidiary of Cascade. Every Property Bill and Melinda Gates Owned Together | RISMedia\'s Bill Gates is now America's biggest farmer - The Telegraph When Quarterman first heard about Gates firm buying land in the area, he began digging through local property records, linking addresses and business records from registered owners to Kirkland-based companies, until he was able to piece together that the companies buying multiple tracts of land in the Suwannee River Basin were all a shell of a shell of a shell company investing for Bill Gates. NBC News independently confirmed that there were, in fact, shell companies tracing back to Gates firm that purchased 6,021 acres across four counties in Georgia. Our exposure to Invitation Homes is owning its stock in mutual funds we manage, not buying houses w/ them, BlackRock tweeted. APS ASSESSMENT: False. From mortgage info and housing trends to updates on which celebritys bathroom is equipped with a Vitamin-C infused shower, Housecall covers the entire moving and shaking gamut of the industry decision to end their marriage after 27 years, How to Know Youve Found the Home of Your Dreams, 3 Reasons to Hire Pest Control Services After Moving Into Your Home, 4 Additions For Your New Bathroom Remodel, Top Kitchen Design Trends to Consider for Your Renovation, Inside Jeff Bezos Multi-Billion Dollar Real Estate Portfolio, Reasons to Take Care of a Water Leak in Your Home as Soon as Possible, A Quick Guide to Stopping Ceiling Leaks in Your Home, 10 Tips for Taking Care of Wood Furniture, 5 Important Facts About Your Rain Gutter System, 5 Strategies for Making Moving House as Smooth as Possible, Lessons Every Homeowner Can Learn This Winter to Prepare for the Next, How to Spot Foundation Issues in an Old Home. Not only is it usable by you, but land can be used for so many different things. They own the soil where the potatoes in McDonald's french fries grow, the carrots from the world's largest . With more productive seeds we can avoid deforestation and help Africa deal with the climate difficulty they already face. (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). This is part of APs effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. In north Louisiana, the Gateses investment firm owns about 70,000 acres of land through at least three other shell companies. And we think it will provide good inflation protection in the long run. Today, Bill Gates owns 242,000 acres of farmland in 19 states. the latest American Housing Survey by the Census Bureau. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. The billionaire tech mogul and philanthropist has quietly amassed nearly 270,000 acres of farmland across the country, but thats still a relatively small slice of the nations nearly 900 million total farm acres. 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. The billionaire recently came under severe criticism from a fourth-generation farmer in South Georgia for his farmland ownership in the U.S. Will Harris, who owns a 152-year-old family farm named. The billionaire media mogul Ted Turner epitomizes such disparities. THE FACTS: As Elon Musks bid to purchase Twitter has grabbed headlines in recent days, some prominent voices have taken to social media to claim that some other significant acquisitions by deep-pocketed individuals and corporations have largely flown under the radar. Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in - The Guardian The opportunities are virtually endless. Bill Gates owns a lot of American farmland, but not the majority By PHILIP MARCELO May 2, 2022 CLAIM: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates owns the majority of America's farmland and the investment firm BlackRock holds the majority of single family houses in the country. Farmland can be an investment in several ways. Media billionaire Ted Turner has also invested in 2 million acres of land (much of it rangeland and prairie, rather than cropland) and earned the distinction of being the largest private owner of buffalo herds that roam the 200,000 acres of his private ranch, The Guardian reported. This could allow you to sell or lease the individual lots of land on the property. 5. 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. Bill Gates now the biggest owner of farmland in the US , updated Besides the enrollment of their landholdings in Leading Harvest, the Gates Foundation in 2020 also created an agricultural nonprofit, Gates Ag One, which focuses on bringing affordable solutions to small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to improve crop productivity. Except, it seems, when it comes to a private individual selling some land to iconic billionaire Bill Gates. This map shows that area as a rectangle that can be dragged. If you are unsure where to start, you can also check country tax sales. And not all the renters are local. 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 extensive tax avoidance by these titans of industry will always far exceed their supposed charitable donations to the public. The Gates Foundation said in a statement that its agriculture efforts do not extend to farming in the U.S. Gates, in an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit last year, said his investment group was behind the purchases, and suggested it was linked to seed and biofuel development. Learn more about fact-checking at AP. Gates' achievement, according to the report, is that he's largest private owner of farmland in the US. Whose land is it anyway? Farmers, billionaires, foreign investors One per cent of the worlds farms control 70% of the worlds farmlands, one report found. Through our professional experience in land acquisition, we have found that people buy and sell land for many different reasons and have learned that it can be an investment for profit, vacation, or any opportunity that suits your needs and desires. Lemmon Holdings, the billionaire spent $80 million to purchase. Our inventory spans five western states. In 1994 Bill and Melinda Gates are said to have hired Michael Larson to help them diversify their property portfolio. It also allows you to keep a portion of the land for personal use so you do not have to give up your weekend home or relaxation property. The 1862 Homestead Act opened up 270m acres of Indigenous territory which amounts to 10% of US land for white settlement. Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, has been revealed as the biggest private owner of farmland in the US, after buying up 242,000 acres in 18 states. If you own a good amount of land, then you have the possibility of subdividing it into multiple lots that can generate separate income streams. But theyre far better known for their work in tech and in trying to save the climate. The 66,000-square-foot home overlooks Lake Washington and, although there is no exact estimate of the homes value currently, it had a total assessed value of $147.5 million on 2009 property tax documents. Bill Gates tells Reddit why he's bought so much farmland - AFN Is this simply a diversification of Gates' massive tech investment portfolio? 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. One answer might surprise you: While trying to track down who recently purchased 14,500 acres of choice farmland in Washington state's Columbia River Basin, researchers at The Land Report discovered the new owner was Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. 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