24/7 Wall St. Insights
- The average per-acre value of farmland in the U.S. surged by nearly 30% between 2020 and 2023.
- Among the families on this list, land ownership ranges from 420,000 acres to over 2.4 million acres.
- Also: Discover the Next Nvidia
American is one of the world’s largest countries, comprising a whopping 1.9 billion acres of land. Today, roughly 60% of American land is owned by individuals and corporations. According to Discount Lots, the average American can afford to purchase 3 acres of land. However, some American families own a shocking amount of the American landscape.
When Europeans colonized America, land came cheap. Years later, when President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act in 1862, citizens and future citizens were given up to 160 acres of land free of charge. New landholders were simply required to live on the acreage and commit to improving it. Since those early years, people began purchasing land for investment purposes. And as global populations expand, land becomes a much more precious resource.
The United States spans 3.8 million square miles, and every inch of it is owned by someone. The federal government ranks as the single largest landowner in the country by a wide margin, controlling approximately 640 million acres, or about 1 million square miles, through various departments and agencies.
An inherently limited resource, land is a valuable asset — and as demand for real estate has surged in recent years, it has only become more valuable. The median new home sale price more than doubled between mid-2012 and late 2022, according to data from the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, the average per-acre value of farmland in the U.S. surged by nearly 30% between 2020 and 2023.
Using data from The Land Report, a quarterly publication, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 25 largest landowners in the United States. The landowners on this list are ranked by total acres of land in their possession.
Among the 25 individuals and families on this list, land ownership ranges from 420,000 acres, roughly half the size of Yosemite National Park, to over 2.4 million acres, more than three times the size of Rhode Island. Many of these landowners are billionaires, and some, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, rank among the wealthiest people in the world.
In many cases, land holdings are used in part for business purposes. Bezos, for example, uses his 165,000-acre West Texas ranch as a rocket launch site for his aerospace company Blue Origin. Other common uses include ranching, farming, and resource extraction.
Why We Are Mentioning This
Land ownership in America reveals a shocking disparity between white and black citizens. A report put out by the United States Department of Agriculture, Who Owns the Land, shows massive inequality across races. The combined land owned by black Americans across the U.S. is less than the total acreage owned by the top five landowners in America. Not surprisingly, these top five landholders are all white. Though black Americans account for 13% of the U.S. population, they collectively own less than 1% of rural land.
These are America’s biggest landowners.
25. Jeff Bezos
- Total land holdings in 2024: 420,000 acres (656 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About half the size of Yosemite National Park
- Locations include: Parts of Texas
- Landowner background: Founder of Amazon, uses Texas real estate holdings to launch rockets for his spaceflight program
24. Shannon Kizer
- Total land holdings in 2024: 431,000 acres (673 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About the size of Houston, TX
- Locations include: Parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas
- Landowner background: Rancher and farmer
23. Fisher Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 440,000 acres (688 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: Nearly twice the size of San Diego
- Locations include: Parts of California
- Landowner background: Founders of The Gap retailer. Owners of the Mendocino Redwood Company and Humboldt Redwood Company
22. Simplot Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 443,000 acres (692 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About twice the size of New Orleans
- Locations include: Parts of Idaho
- Landowner background: Descendants of Jack Simplot whose company became the sole supplier of potatoes to McDonald’s
21. Stefan Soloviev
- Total land holdings in 2024: 535,000 acres (836 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: More than twice the size of Dallas
- Locations include: Parts of Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico
- Landowner background: Chairman of the Soloviev Group, which is involved in agriculture, ranching, real estate, railroads and hospitality. Uses some land for utility-scale renewable power production
20. Martin Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 550,000 acres (859 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: Nearly three times the size of Memphis, TN
- Locations include: Parts of Louisiana
- Landowner background: Descendants of the founder of RoyOMartin, a timber and wood product company
19. Stimson Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 552,000 acres (863 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: Nearly five times the size of Tampa, FL
- Locations include: Parts of Idaho, Oregon, and Montana
- Landowner background: Sixth generation owners of the Stimson Lumber Company, one of America’s oldest logging operations
18. Westervelt Heirs
- Total land holdings in 2024: 566,000 acres (884 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About the size of Jacksonville, FL
- Locations include: Parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina
- Landowner background: Descendants of the founder of Prairie States Paper Company
17. Thomas Peterffy
- Total land holdings in 2024: 581,000 acres (908 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: Nearly four times the size of Chicago
- Locations include: Parts of Florida and Georgia
- Landowner background: Properties are used for agricultural, residential, commercial, and industrial development
16. O’Connor Heirs
- Total land holdings in 2024: 587,800 acres (918 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About three times the size of New York City
- Locations include: Parts of Texas
- Landowner background: Own the O’Connor Ranch, one of the oldest ranches in Texas
15. Ford Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 600,000 acres (938 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About 10 times the size of Brooklyn, NY
- Locations include: Parts of California, Oregon, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Virginia
- Landowner background: Family owns Roseburg Forest Products, a lumber and finished wood product company
14. Lykes Heirs
- Total land holdings in 2024: 615,000 acres (961 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About twice the size of Los Angeles
- Locations include: Parts of Florida and Texas
- Landowner background: Own cattle ranches in Texas and citrus groves in Florida
13. Wilks Brothers
- Total land holdings in 2024: 675,000 acres (1,055 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About one-tenth the size of Massachusetts
- Locations include: Parts of Texas, Idaho, and Montana
- Landowner background: Founders of energy company, Frac Tech
12. Briscoe Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 738,000 acres (1,153 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: More than 10 times the size of Queens, NY
- Locations include: Parts of Texas
- Landowner background: Family of a former Texas governor who collectively own ranches raising thousands of cattle
11. Pingree Heirs
- Total land holdings in 2024: 830,000 acres (1,297 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About twice the size of London
- Locations include: Parts of Maine and New Hampshire
- Landowner background: Owns parts of Mount Washington and the Seven Islands Land Company, which operates in timber production
10. King Ranch Heirs
- Total land holdings in 2024: 911,215 acres (1,424 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About one-fourth the size of Connecticut
- Locations include: Parts of Texas
- Landowner background: Owners of King Ranch in Texas and other ranching and oil producing properties
9. Brad Kelley
- Total land holdings in 2024: 1,000,000 acres (1,563 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About the size of Rhode Island
- Locations include: Parts of New Mexico and Texas
- Landowner background: Founded the Commonwealth Brands tobacco company
8. Singleton Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 1,100,000 acres (1,719 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About one-fifth the size of New Hampshire
- Locations include: Parts of California and New Mexico
- Landowner background: Owners of the Singleton Ranches, which are among the world’s largest cattle operations
7. Buck Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 1,236,000 acres (1,931 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About four times the size of Los Angeles
- Locations include: Parts of Maine
- Landowner background: Family includes the co-founder of Subway restaurants
6. Irving Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 1,267,792 acres (1,981 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About half the size of the Island of Hawaii
- Locations include: Parts of Maine
- Landowner background: Descendants of the founder of Canadian conglomerate J.D. Irving Company
5. Reed Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 1,661,000 acres (2,595 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About the size of Delaware
- Locations include: Parts of California, Oregon, and Washington
- Landowner background: Descendants of the founder of the Simpson Logging Company, now Green Diamond Resource Company
4. Stan Kroenke
- Total land holdings in 2024: 1,700,000 acres (2,656 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: About half the size of Connecticut
- Locations include: Parts of Texas and Montana
- Landowner background: Owner of multiple professional sports teams and Waggoner Ranch, the largest ranch in Texas
3. Ted Turner
- Total land holdings in 2024: 2,000,000 acres (3,125 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: Nearly one-third the size of New Jersey
- Locations include: Parts of Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, and South Dakota
- Landowner background: CNN founder, owner of multiple ranches
2. John Malone
- Total land holdings in 2024: 2,200,000 acres (3,438 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: Nearly three times the size of Rhode Island
- Locations include: Parts of Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Wyoming
- Landowner background: Owner of the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation
1. Emmerson Family
- Total land holdings in 2024: 2,411,000 acres (3,767 square miles)
- Relative size of land holdings: More than three times the size of Rhode Island
- Locations include: Parts of California, Oregon, and Washington
- Landowner background: Owner of Sierra Pacific Industries, one of the largest lumber and renewable energy companies in the U.S.
ALERT: Take This Retirement Quiz Now (Sponsored)
Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Take the retirement quiz right here.
The post This American Family’s Combined Land Is the Size of Puerto Rico appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..