Estimates are based on information from published reports, online databases, tax records, and information provided by various landowners, and include only rural land holdings. 31 - New Mexico John Malone owns a total of 2.2 million acres of land, with a portion of it being in New Mexico. Meet John C. Malone The Largest Landowner In The U.S. Doesnt just own CNN he is the largest landowner in New Mexico. He founded the Commonwealth Brands tobacco company in 1991 and sold the company in 2001 to Houchens Industries for US$1 billion. Land: Approximately two million acres of forestland in California and Washington. Ed Bass helped build the brand-new $540 million Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, which opened in late October 2019. Roughly equal to: Twice the size of the Hawaiin Island of Molokai. 6. 33 - North Carolina It is a wonderful life. Philip Anschutz: 434,500 acres in Wyoming and Colorado. Roughly equal to: The size of Los Angeles. 47. Background: Toronto attorney David Fasken started buying land in Texas in 1913. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Our list of the 10 largest landowners in the U.S. in 2020 is based on the data from Land Report. Turner's land is used by more than 50,000 head of buffalo for grazing - the largest private herd of bison in the world. Horton:503,000 acres in New Mexico and Texas, where he hosts a children's summer camp. His space firm Blue Origin uses it to test. In Rural America, Right-to-Repair Laws are the Leading Edge of a Pushback Meet the Modern Graziers Who Broke Into Regenerative Agriculture, No Farmland Required, 7 Smokable Plants You Can Grow That Arent Marijuana, Sustainable Farmers See Promise in New Financing Options, New Solar Panels Allow Farmers to See the Light, The Buzzy Edible Insect Trend is Gaining Traction in the West. 49. Evans turned himself in this June. Of the many fowls he has sired, the family says, we havent found anything we dont like about them.. Roughly equal to: 2,500 times the size of Vatican City. They welcome guests to hunt, fish, or go on photography safaris.. Here is a look at the richest person in every state. 110,000 acres 141,700 acres Soloviev uses the landto grow crops like wheat, corn, and sorghum. David Fasken, a Canadian lawyer, bought the massive C Ranch from the Texas General Land Office in 1913. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. Family members are farmers and descendants ofJack Simplot, who first supplied McDonald's with french fries. The land has short grasses, alpine tundra mountains, and more. 16. 212,985 acres Ira Wines, who works the familys prized Spanish Ranch, doesnt have times for greenhorns. Background: Holland Ware's fortunes in the timber industry began in the early 50s with his first purchase of 100 acres for $10 when he was 15 years old. 166,655 acres Kroenke is married to Ann Walkton Kroenke, an heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune. Still, the family hasnt climbed in this years rankings. Since earning a $350 million dollar payday from Clorox, Quimby has been buying land she hopes will become Maine Woods National Park. Lay folks like to hear land measured in acres or square miles, but the Killiam prefer animal units the measure of how many cows an area can graze. The Irving family is the sixth largest private landholder in the United States. Rockin 7 Ranch is now one of the biggest in Wyoming. That means the federal government controls 31.7% of the state's land. 848,571 acres Abell currently serves as the vice president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, a trade group with membership exceeding 15,000 in Texas and Oklahoma alone. Family members runSierra Pacific Industries, a log business that relies on lumber fromforest fires and sells it to lumber retailers. Horizontal drilling.). The overriding goal is to develop and implement management plans that protect the land. The land office also helps landowners access important resources. The BLM manages public lands and resources, including promoting recreational access. The West Texas rancher and oilman keeps close track of his portfolio. Sounds like the perfect setting for a combination of Gunsmoke and Beverly Hills: 90210. Babacomari Ranch Elgin, Ariz. This hedge fund manager wears his Audubon Medal with pride. That means the federal government controls 31.7% of the states land. Ted Turner: 2 million acres in New Mexico, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Georgia. Luther and Frank King independently run their cattle operations in the heart of Texas. The foundation now protects land all across the Ozarks. The Austin-based family partnership climbed the rankings with a couple of add-ons to their New Mexico and Texas ranches. Oil and drilling profits helped him buy a sportsmans paradise in the Big Bend area of Far West Texas. Waggoner Estate. Collectively, the Robinson and Freed families own 300,000 acres in partnership. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. In addition, they bring jobs and economic growth with their investments in the aerospace and other industries. 150,000 acres The ranch recently received a conservation easement from the U.S. Department of Defense and New Mexico Land Conservancy. 175,000 acres Today, his family owns some 280,000 acres, primarily in Collier County, which is named after him. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Thomas Lane Jr. makes the ranching business sound simple: Were just continuing a tradition and well expand if we can.. 25 had died from starvation. Six of the nation's top ten largest individual landowners have put their land into conservation easements (in bold). Heres how it breaks down between each division: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) handles 54.7% of the land, followed by the U.S. Forest Service at 37.4%. The cowboy favorite is buttermilk piesugar, eggs and rich dairy products loaded into a couple of pie pans. What David Pingree purchased from 100 different Maine townships in 1840 is now an ecologically managed forest supplying hardwood floors to the world. 255,000 acres 40. The federal government is the top landowner in New Mexico, controlling over 24 million acres. Have some feedback for us? Kroenke adds Broken O to Q Creek Ranch, the largest contiguous ranch in the Rocky Mountains at 540,000 acres. 192,000 acres Land: Owns 2 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. The 40 Largest Private Landowners in New Mexico - William P. Barrett The mammoth ranch spans eight Nebraska counties and yields plenty of alfalfa and millet for the herd. Roughly equal to: Three times the size of Guam. 625,000 acres Founded by Thomas Douglas Stimson, the Stimson Lumber Company, which today operates out of the Pacific Northwest, has remained in the family for six generations. 32. 39. New Mexicos State Trust Land Office oversees 9 million surface acres of land and 13 million mineral acres. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Their historic 55,709-acre Rockpile Ranch in Far West Texas is listed for $54.8 million. The Emmerson family owns and operates Sierra Pacific Industries, a company that logs usable lumber after forest fires and sells it to lumber retailers. 19. A.S. Gages headquarters is now a high end hotel in Marathon, Texas, but it once centered more than half a million acres of grazing lands. We think of William Randolph Hearst as the newspaper mogul whispering Rosebud to an empty room, but the family fortune started with land. two main ranches, the 6666 Ranch near Guthrie and the Dixon Creek Ranch near Panhandle, total 275,000 acres. Roughly equal to: The size of Phoenix, Arizona. Thank them for the shirt on your back. This put them at the top of the list for the largest landowners in New Mexico. Owners of the oldest continuously operated cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle. O'Connor heirs:587,800 acres in Texas. 36. The familys Green Diamond Resource Company and Simpson Investment Company owns forests in California and Washington, all of which have an independent stamp of approval from the Forest Stewardship Council. The ten largest landowners in America are 1. cable and media honcho John Malone (2.2 million acres), 2. lumber titans Emmerson Family, 3. Holland Ware owns over half a million acres of land primarily in Florida and Georgia. Waggoner's began expanding his father's ranching interests and established what is known today as the W.T. 270,000 acres Bell Ranch Owner Tops Ted Turner as Biggest Landowner in U.S. Background: Malone has served in executive positions in telecommunications firms and is currently the chairman of Liberty Media Corp. Land: 1.2 million acres of forests in Maine. Brothers Farris and Dan Wilks started off with Frac Tech, a natural gas extraction company in 2002, and sold it for $3.5 billion in 2011. Background: The Lykes family-owned company began as a cattle ranching operation and has since expanded into bioenergy and farming. Holding family:395,030 acres in Montana. Background: Ted Turner founded the Turner Broadcasting System that launched CNN and several other cable successful programs. Background: Former Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe Jr., expanded his holdings when oil and gas were discovered on his ranchland. CNN founder Ted Turner owns 2 million acres of land largely in New Mexico, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Georgia. Ralph R. Ortega For Dailymail.com 8. The Singleton family owns 1,110,000 acres in New Mexico and Under the livestock feeding company Llano Partners Ltd., Hughes Abell owns and operates ranching operations in New Mexico, Texas, and Florida. The Barta family, which owes its wealth to its prescription services company, Sav-Rx, now owns one of the largest cattle ranching operations in Nebraska. The family still owns most of that property. Through Sierra Pacific, the family owns some 2 million acres in California and Washington. 422,164 acres This ranking is current as of the end of 2018. 239,000 acres His land ownership in New Mexico will likely expand as the space industry develops. The Nunleys are a ranching family particularly proud of their genetics program around Santa Gertrudis Cattle and the size of the deer on their Texas ranches. 29. Anne Marion: 275,000 acres in Texas, including the famous 6666, or "Four Sixes" cattle ranch in the Southern Panhandle, which is close to 150 years old. He made sure the Land 100 knew he managed to add three acres to his tally this year. Anne Marion owns several major properties in Texas, including the famous 6666, or "Four Sixes" cattle ranch in the Southern Panhandle, which is close to 150 years old. Kizer's farming and ranching operations produce peanuts, corn, wheat, dairy and cattle. Whatever your politics, you cant deny their love for cattle. 5 with 1.4 million acres, including a 124,000 acre ranch in Montana, and additional land in Wyoming. The J.R. Simplot Company is one of the largest agribusinesses in the country, but per their website and despite that profit margin, their company is as small as a single farmer. With holdings as far as New Zealand, the Idaho-based company is a little larger than a single farm. She does this while also helping to fund public education and other important state institutions. It was in 2004 that Bezos bought Broes Hubble & Green Ranches in New Mexico; it covers 290,000 acres. McDonald family: 474,000 acres in Alabama, Florida, and Oklahoma but the majority of the family's land holdings are in Maine. 39. New Mexicos top landowners are shaping the future of this unique state, making it an exciting place to live, work, and play. The late Truman Collins was a lumberman who became the largest private landholder in Pennsylvania before his death in 1914. Roughly equal to: Half the size of Lake Ontario. 400,000 acres That's about half the size of Lake Ontario. The Martin family, owners of the nearly 100 year old RoyOMartin Lumber Company, have over half a million acre of land, largely in Louisiana. The 90-year-old CEO of Dole Food Company plans to live to 125 on what the The New York Times calls a diet of messianic correctness that can, and will, ward off major disease in a 2011 magazine piece. Background: 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 that is one of the oldest forest products companies in the Pacific Northwest. Llano Partners:295,000 acres in New Mexico, Texas and Florida. The Briscoes operation spreads over nine Texas counties and three Briscoe generations. The Lees are sheep and cattle ranchers who owe some of their wealth to the discovery of uranium and coal on their property in the western half of the state. 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. O'Connor, above, continued to expand the land his father, Thomas O'Connor, was awarded in the Battle of San Jacinto. . A good old picture of the American heartland. May take the cake in the category of multigenerational landholdings. (If youve made it to #81, that joke is especially for you. Boyd's Frying Pan Ranch was originally made up of 95 sections in the Texas Panhandle, which was one of the first areas to test out barbed-wire fencing over 130 years ago. He owns ranches in Texas, New Mexico and Kentucky. Originating from the land grant days of Coastal Texas, the Jones have multiple ranches surrounding Corpus Cristi, Texas. 275,000 acres 165,000 acres Shannon Kizer has 302,000 acres across five states: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Family members are mostly cattle ranchers. Background: 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. Her two main ranches, the 6666 Ranch near Guthrie and the Dixon Creek Ranch near Panhandle, total 275,000 acres. Then there's the Killiams at No. Baron Collier, an advertising executive who developed land and infrastructure in southern Florida, had been largest landholder in the state at the time of his death. 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. Real estate mogul and owner of the Los Angeles Rams, Stan Kroenke, owns 1.4 million acres of land in the United States, including a 124,000 acre ranch in Montana and additional land in Wyoming. Roughly equal to: Half the size of Rhode Island. 37. Doesn't just own CNN he is the largest landowner in New Mexico. 150,000 acres Chalk up 3,000 animal units to the Dana Ranch. The 25 Largest Landowners In The U.S.: #25.Jeff Bezos 290,000 Acres Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos bought a 290,000 acre ranch in Texas in 2004. And at No. His marriage to Ann Walkton Kroenke, an heir to the Wal-Mart fortune, likely adds to his good fortune. Land: Ranches and oilfields throughout Texas. And then there are the individuals, including Shannon Kizer, who owns 302,000 acres in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. 45. 160,000 acres Its recreational offerings include hunting, fishing, and eco-tourism activities. The Babbitts are long-time Arizona cattle ranchers who have been in the area since 1886. 149,702 acres Ford family: 580,000 acresin Oregon. Courtesy of Washington State Dept. Who are the 20 biggest American landowners? | Woodworking Network 179,129 acres Their land is used for a range of resource extraction industries, including timber, sand and gravel, and oil. Ted Turner owns one million acres in New Mexico. America's largest landowners: Jeff Bezos and John Malone make the list Sign up for your Modern Farmer Weekly Newsletter. Roughly equal to: Twice as large as Rhode Island. The descendants of the late Kenneth Ford own 580,000 acres primarily in Oregon. 161,093 acres 145,000 acres Father George Hearst hit silver after coming to California as a 49er and expanded into minerals and ranching. 5. In 1959, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Of all the grandpa-bought-some-land stories in this list, this is the best. Malone Mitchell runs Longfellow Ranches, a 500 square mile hunting preserve. Wilks Brothers:702,367 acres in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas. 135,000 acres Background: 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 -- a block larger than the size of Rhode Island. Roughly equal to: The size of San Antonio. Waggoner Estate claims to be the largest Texas ranch under one fence. King Ranch heirs: 911,215 acres inTexas. John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. The land conservancy act will protect more than 500 species of vertebrates. 119,000 acres 2,200,000 acres (The other? A study found that 31 million acres, or 1.4 per cent of the country's total land mass, is under the control of the private owners, who are noticeably wealthy, white and older. 260,035 acres 230,000 acres The property is the largest ranch in the state,by Captain Richard King in 1853 and subsequently passed down through generations. and J.E. 35. Background: Robert Earl Holding's success began in the oil industry where he owns three refineries and bought Sinclair Oil in 1976. 278,000 acres Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and are used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Luke Brite made a name breeding some of the toughest cattle in Texas around the turn of the century. Herbert Westervelt started a paper company in the late 1800s. And it only gets bigger from there for several wealthy families. Mike Smith:295,980 acres in Texas. Roughly equal to: Six-and-a-half times larger than Detroit. No longer #10 with the acquisition of Montanas Broken O Ranch, an inspiring combination of irrigated farming and cattle land envisioned by paint mogul, Benjamin Moore. The majority of the land controlled by the private owners is West of the Mississippi River, with exceptions in Maine and Florida. 16:01 GMT 26 Nov 2019. Holland Ware:534,900 acres in Florida and Georgia. And while more than a quarter of all land in the states is owned by the federal government, it turns out that only a fraction of the nation's population of more than 327 million control the most private land, the investigation found. Land: Oil and gas divisions throughout the West and Southwest; timber units across Maine, Oklahoma, and the Southeast. Family members are mostly sheep and cattle ranchers who owe some of their wealth to the discovery of uranium and coal on their property. Lyda family: 260,035 acres, including La Escalera ranch in far West Texas. 9, owns more than twice as much as Bezos. 130,000 acres He is a cable TV mogul who currently owns the $24 billion company, Liberty Media. Bezos?). With plans underway for a major expansion of the aerospace industry, Bezos will no doubt be a major player in the states future. Briscoe heirs:640,000 acres in Texas. Today, much of Kelley's 1.2 million acres are located in Kentucky. The land and livestock division has 37 farms and 15 ranches with capacity for 30,000 mother cows. Background: Anne Marion is the fourth generation heir to Samuel Burnett, a cattle rancher who amassed more than a third of a million acres in Texas by the early 1900s. 2,000,000+ acres 10. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. For five generations, the Reed Family has owned and operated the logging company Green Diamond Resource Co. The couple are ranch operators. 200,000 acres His purchase of the Sierra Grande Lodge and Spa brings tourists closer to two of his landmark properties and, ya know, space. After oil was discovered on their ranch in the 1940s, the Faskens spread across the Southwest. The discovery of oil on that ranch propelled Fasken to wealth, and now Fasken Oil & Ranch is a major oil drilling company that has heavily employed fracking technology. The Singleton family owns 1,110,000 acres in New Mexico and California. Loves oil investment, ranching and Mitt Romney; not a fan of gay reporters knocking the Boy Scouts of America. Shannon Kizer: 302,000 acres inArizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Claims their ranch holdings are just as impressive as their highly-productive oil fields. 290,000 acres Many of them inherited land bought cheap at the turn of the century. As the founder of Cable News Network and now vice chairman of Time Warner, Ted Turner is famous, even legendary. The McDonald family's 474,000 acres are spread across Alabama, Florida, and Oklahoma but the majority of the family's land holdings is in Maine. largest landowners in louisiana - legal-innovation.com The Kokernot family's 06 Ranch brand registered in Texas since 1837. 434,500 acres Roughly equal to: Half the size of Connecticut. Lee family:275,000 acres in New Mexico. When the Suggs relocated their cattle from Texas to Oklahoma, they found buckets of oil under their new land. Roughly equal to: Seven times the size of Philadelphia. Theres so much private land, too, with nearly 50 acres for every person in the state. Largest Landowner in the US - 5 Private owners, and a breakdown by Because if youre going to go softwood sawmill, you want to make it state-of-the-art. Doesnt run nearly the profile of her father, Wilard Garvey, who bought the ranch. Not surprisingly, many of the people on this list rank among the wealthiest Americans. Roughly equal to: One-third the size of Delaware. 830,000 acres 247,000 acres Another logging family with the heart of a tree hugger. The oil and gas business man developed a love for land on his grandparents farm. Andrew Tate, the violent, high-profile, virulently misogynistic pro-Trump social media influencer currently imprisoned and under investigation by Romanian authorities due to allegations of. Cant say we expected any less from someone named Crowbar Beggs. Their land is primarily made of up six cattle ranches in Utah. 100,000 acres Isaac Ellwood invented barbed wire in the 1870s. Owners Donald and Doris Fisher co-founded the clothing brand Gap. The list comes with a thank you from sponsor Gregory W. Fay, owner of real estate brokerage Fay Ranches, to the top 100 for helping to produce the food we eat, and providing so much of the habitat for our fish and wildlife. Its a nice pat on the back if your portfolio just crossed the 100,000 acre mark. Who Is The Biggest Landowner In New Mexico? - PartyShopMaine Errol Galt is the former Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Game commissioner. Roughly equal to: The size of Prince Edward Island. The family descends from the 1970s Texas governor and rancher Dolph Briscoe Jr. Briscoe was the largest Texas landowner when he . Background: The family business, Irving Woodlands, has roots dating back to 1882 when James D. Irving founded a company that included a sawmill, gristmill, lumber business and farms. This Man Owns More Land Than Anyone Else in America Below are the nuts and bolts of the list along with some extra insights. Between 2012 and 2013, the top 100 added 700,000 acres to their collective portfolios, big, thick, good traveling, sound, fertile, hardy. David Fasken, a Canadian, bought a ranch in West Texas in 1913. The founder of Southern Pine Plantations diversified from timberland in the U.S. South with the purchase of 20,000 acres of mineral rights in East Texas. He has used portions of those settlement to buy three ranches where he hunts, raises cattle, and one might hope, doesnt smoke. Malone made his fortune as a media tycoon, building the company Tele-Communications, Inc, or TCI, and acting as its CEO before selling it to AT&T for $50 billion in 1999.