Bill Gates Is Now The Biggest Owner Of Farmland Across Whole Of US

Microsoft’s Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world, has been putting his fortune towards buying up farmland across the US.

It has now been revealed that over the years, Gates has amassed a huge total of 242,000 acres of agricultural land, making him the top private farmland owner in the whole of the US.

According to new reports, his portfolio of farmland spans 18 different states. This includes a stake in 25,750 acres of transitional land in Phoenix, Arizona, which is being developed into a new suburb.

As revealed by The Land Report,  Gates’ largest plots of land are in Louisiana, where he has 69,971 acres, in Arkansas, where he has 47,927 acres, and Nebraska, where he owns 20,588 acres.

The land is held directly by Gates himself, and through his investment company, Cascada Investments.

In 2008, the billionaire and his wife Melinda Gates announced they would donate $306 million in grants to farmers to promote high-yield, sustainable agriculture in sub-Sahara Africa and South Asia. Since then, the couple’s foundation has also invested in the development and proliferation of ‘super crops’ that are resistant to climate change.

While it is unclear how Gates’ farmland in the US is being used, it could be part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s conservation efforts, Forbes reports.

This is because one of Cascada’s subsidiaries is a member of Leading Harvest, a non-profit organisation that works to advance sustainable agriculture and protect crops, soil and water resources.

While Gates’ acquisitions make him the biggest farmland owner, the US largest individual landowner is John Malone, Liberty Media Chair, who owns a huge 2.2 million acres of ranches and forests.

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