The United States is the third largest country on Earth by landmass (behind Russia and Canada,) covering nearly 2.3 billion acres. About 60% (1.4 billion acres) is privately owned, while the rest is owned by federal, state, and local governments, and tribal reservations. While urban areas make up only 3% of the U.S. land base, most of the country is rural – with the majority being used for agriculture (including cropland and livestock pasture) and forestry.
If the nation’s private land was divided amongst the current population of the United States, each person would own about 4.19. Of course, not everyone has the money or desire to invest in rural landholdings. While over 44 million households rent – rather than own – their homes, other individuals, families, and heirs own hundreds of thousands of acres.
To determine the 50 largest landowners in the United States, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from The Land Report magazine’s 2021 Land Report 100. The report’s estimates are based on information from other published reports, online databases, tax records, and information provided by various landowners, and include only rural land holdings. Ownership must be deeded, not leased, but note that some of these landowners also lease significant tracts of pastureland from the federal government.
Much of the holdings are ranch or timberland in the Southwest and on the West Coast. Accordingly, many of the landowners are in the ranching or forestry business, while some are also oil company owners or media or entertainment moguls. Almost no land in the Midwest or Northeast belongs to America’s major landowners, with the notable exception of forests in northern Maine.
The 50 individuals, families, and heirs on the list own at least 261,000 acres apiece and nearly 32 million acres combined – or about 1.4% of the country’s total landmass. Nine families or individuals own over 1 million acres each, while the top four own at least 2 million acres each. (This is the city in every state with the most billionaires.)
The largest landholders in America are the Emmerson Family, owners of the California-based lumber company Sierra Pacific Industries. In 2021, they acquired 175,000 acres in Oregon from Seneca Jones Timber, which raised the family’s holdings to 2.33 million acres. No. 2 on the list is Liberty Media Chairman John Malone, who owns 2.2 million acres of ranch and timber holdings, while third is the Reed family, who own a Washington-based forest products company with land holdings in California, Oregon, and Washington.
Big-name billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates also rank among the top 50 landowners. Bill Gates made headlines in 2020 for becoming the largest owner of private farmland in the U.S. Over the past decade, the Microsoft co-founder has accumulated about 269,000 acres of active farmland in 18 states. Other billionaire business magnates on the list include L.A. Rams owner Stan Kroenke and CNN founder Ted Turner. Here are the richest Americans of all time.
Click here to see which people own the most land in America
Source: mtcurado / iStock via Getty Images
50. D.K. Boyd
> Land area owned: 261,937 acres
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Source: Courtesy of Montana State Legislature
49. Galt Family
> Land area owned: 262,000 acres
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Source: Courtesy of The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
48. Four Sixes Ranch
> Land area owned: 266,255 acres
Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
47. Bill Gates
> Land area owned: 268,984 acres
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Source: grandriver / E+ via Getty Images
46. True Family
> Land area owned: 272,000 acres
Source: Courtesy of Oklahoma State University
45. Malone Mitchell 3rd
> Land area owned: 273,000 acres
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42. Babbitt Heirs
> Land area owned: 275,000 acres
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Source: ktmoffitt / E+ via Getty Images
42. Jones Family
> Land area owned: 275,000 acres
Source: Courtesy of New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
42. Lee Family
> Land area owned: 275,000 acres
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Source: alejomiranda / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
41. Killam Family
> Land area owned: 277,000 acres
Source: Courtesy of Kokernot o6 Ranch
40. Kokernot Heirs
> Land area owned: 278,000 acres
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Source: Courtesy of University of South Florida
39. Collier Family
> Land area owned: 280,000 acres
24/7 Wall St.Source: imaginima / E+ via Getty Images
38. Fasken Family
> Land area owned: 280,648 acres
Source: abadonian / iStock via Getty Images
37. Walker Heirs
> Land area owned: 284,000 acres
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Source: Courtesy of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
36. Llano Partners
> Land area owned: 284,000 acres
Source: Courtesy of the World Wildlife Fund
35. Bass Family
> Land area owned: 285,000 acres
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Source: marekuliasz / iStock via Getty Images
34. Barta Family
> Land area owned: 286,000 acres
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
33. Collins Family
> Land area owned: 311,380 acres
Source: Courtesy of Utah State Democratic Committee
32. Robinson & Freed Families
> Land area owned: 329,000 acres
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
31. Mike Smith
> Land area owned: 339,000 acres
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
30. Cullen Heirs
> Land area owned: 388,000 acres
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Source: Courtesy of Texas A&M University
29. Hughes Family
> Land area owned: 395,000 acres
28. Holding Family
> Land area owned: 395,030 acres
27. Shannon Kizer
> Land area owned: 397,000 acres
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Source: Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife
26. Stefan Soloviev
> Land area owned: 398,000 acres
25. Zane & Tanya Kiehne
> Land area owned: 400,000 acres
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Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images News via Getty Images
24. Jeff Bezos
> Land area owned: 420,000 acres
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
23. Fisher Family
> Land area owned: 440,000 acres
Source: Courtesy of University of Idaho
22. Simplot Family
> Land area owned: 443,091 acres
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Source: Goodshoot / Goodshoot via Getty Images
21. Don Horton
> Land area owned: 508,410 acres
Source: The Westervelt Company via Facebook
20. Westervelt Heirs
> Land area owned: 518,000 acres
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Source: Courtesy of Martin Sustainable Resources
19. Martin Family
> Land area owned: 550,000 acres
Source: Stimson Lumber Company via Facebook
18. Stimson Family
> Land area owned: 552,000 acres
Source: Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images
17. Thomas Peterffy
> Land area owned: 581,000 acres
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Source: Bim / E+ via Getty Images
16. O’Connor Heirs
> Land area owned: 587,800 acres
Source: Courtesy of Roseburg Forest Products via Facebook
15. Ford Family
> Land area owned: 600,000 acres
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14. Lykes Heirs
> Land area owned: 615,000 acres
Source: Courtesy of FTS International
13. Wilks Brothers
> Land area owned: 675,000 acres
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
12. Briscoe Family
> Land area owned: 686,000 acres
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Source: mountinez / Getty Images
11. Pingree Heirs
> Land area owned: 830,000 acres
Source: Courtesy of King Ranch via Facebook
10. King Ranch Heirs
> Land area owned: 911,215 acres
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Source: stevecoleimages / Getty Images
9. Singleton Family
> Land area owned: 1,100,000 acres
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Source: alexeys / Getty Images
8. Brad Kelly
> Land area owned: 1,139,984 acres
Source: Courtesy of Subway Restaurants
7. Peter Buck
> Land area owned: 1,236,000 acres
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Source: Courtesy of Irving Oil
6. Irving Family
> Land area owned: 1,267,792 acres
Source: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
5. Kroenke Ranches
> Land area owned: 1,627,500 acres
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Source: Ben Rose / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
4. Ted Turner
> Land area owned: 2,000,000 acres
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
3. Reed Family
> Land area owned: 2,100,000 acres
Source: Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images
2. John Malone
> Land area owned: 2,200,000 acres
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Source: milehightraveler / Getty Images
1. Emerson Family
> Land area owned: 2,330,000 acres
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