The 937,950-acre sale of Singleton Ranches to Stan Kroenke in December is not just the largest ranch sale of 2025. It’s by far the largest ranch sale in American history, almost twice the size of the runners-up: Pennzoil’s 1996 sale of Vermejo to Ted Turner, which totaled 588,000 acres, and the 2016 sale of the Waggoner Ranch to Kroenke by the heirs of W.T. Waggoner, which totaled 535,000 acres.

“I’ve been fortunate to be involved in the sale of W.T. Waggoner Estate for the family, the Four Sixes Ranch for Anne Marion, and the Mesa Vista Ranch for my good friend Boone Pickens. Combine all three of those ranches, and you’re still not up there with Stan Kroenke buying the Singletons,” says Sam Middleton of Chas. S. Middleton and Son.

An additional dimension to this historic transaction? It was completed in absolute secrecy. No advertising. No online marketing. No press releases. Neither the seller’s broker, Republic Ranches, nor the buyer’s broker, Hall and Hall, would comment on any aspect of the marketing or sale of this almost million-acre portfolio. Not a single aspect of the transaction was known publicly until The Land Report revealed the change of ownership to Kroenke Ranches at the 2026 Land Investment Expo in Des Moines, Iowa.

The transaction itself is a testament to two empire builders. The first is the brilliant entrepreneur who created this sea of grass in the Land of Enchantment: Henry Singleton (1916-1999).

“Dr. Singleton knew exactly what he wanted,” says Middleton. “His first purchase was the San Cristobal just outside Santa Fe in the mid-1980s. Next thing you know, he started expanding his holdings. Ronny Mayer in Roswell sold him most of those ranches. I first met Dr. Singleton when I listed a 28,000-acre ranch between Fort Sumner and Roswell for the Noble family out of Ardmore, Oklahoma. He drove up in this old Suburban that must have had 10 years on it. He saw my brand-new truck and said, ‘Oh, Sam. This is such a nice Suburban. I wish I could afford one.’

“Can you beat that? He’s the chairman of Teledyne. He’s in charge of President Reagan’s blind trust. And he drives a beat-up old Suburban. I liked him right from the start,” Middleton says.

According to Middleton, Singleton would only purchase ranches priced from $55 to $70 per acre. The lone exception was the 81,000-acre San Cristobal (which Will Singleton now owns). Throughout the late 1980s and the 1990s, Singleton assembled his million-acre empire with the help of Mayer, Middleton, and other ranch brokers. He organized his ranches conglomerate-style just like Teledyne. Each of the different ranches — Agua Verde, Bojax, Conchas, Lobo, Pecos, San Cristobal, and Trigg — were run by competent managers who knew their jobs cold.

Stan Kroenke shares many of those same qualities. He, too, is an empire builder. He, too, is better known for his day job as the owner of the Los Angeles Rams (NFL), the Denver Nuggets (NBA), the Colorado Avalanche (NHL), the Colorado Rapids (MLS), and Arsenal FC (Premier League).

Most media reports fail to note that Kroenke has a second day job — as the founder of one of the nation’s most successful real estate development firms, THF Realty. Instead, they highlight his marriage to Bud Walton’s daughter, not his work ethic. Kroenke launched THF Realty in St. Louis with Michael Staenberg in 1991. Today, the $2 billion company owns and operates more than 20 million square feet of shopping centers, commercial properties, and other projects nationwide.

(For the record, THF Realty stands for “To Have Fun.”)

Even before the acquisition of Singleton Ranches, Kroenke’s portfolio of cattle operations had no equal nationwide. In Montana, he owns the 124,000-acre Broken O Ranch. In Nevada, he owns the 247,500-acre Winecup Gamble Ranch. In Texas, he purchased the largest ranch under one fence in 2016, the 535,000-acre W.T. Waggoner Estate Ranch. In Wyoming, he owns 560,000-acre Q Creek Ranch. His holdings also include Canada’s largest producer of beef cattle: Douglas Lake Ranch in British Columbia.

To that tally, now add the largest ranch ever sold in American history: Singleton Ranches’ 937,950 acres.

2025 Deal of the Year – Singleton Ranches

NEW MEXICO

SELLER

Singleton Ranches

SELLER’S BROKER

Republic Ranches

BUYER

Kroenke Ranches

BUYER’S BROKER

Hall and Hall