Bill Gates

#43 on the LR 100

With almost 250,000 acres of highly productive farm ground spread out over 17 states, the co-founder of MICROSOFT ranks as the nation’s largest private farmland owner. Much of Gates’s acreage was bought in huge tranches, including a group of farmland assets owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board that was acquired in 2017 and the 2018 acquisition of the 100 Circles acreage in the Horse Heaven Hills of Eastern Washington. Those two purchases alone total an investment of more than $690 million in farmland assets.

Bill Gates just broke ground on a new TerraPower nuclear plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming, which he’s calling the most advanced nuclear facility in the world. The project uses a next-generation Natrium reactor that’s designed to be safer, more affordable, and better for the environment than traditional nuclear technology. Gates has backed nuclear energy for years and sees this as a big step forward for clean power and U.S. energy independence. While federal approval is still needed for the reactor itself, construction has already started on other parts of the site, with hopes to be up and running by 2030.

Read full article: Bill Gates Breaks Ground on TerraPower Nuclear Plant

Rank:

#41

Total Acres:

275,000

bill gates lr 100 headshot

Bill Gates

@ John Keatley

Bill Gates

#43 on the LR 100

bill gates

Bill Gates

@ John Keatley

With almost 250,000 acres of highly productive farm ground spread out over 17 states, the co-founder of MICROSOFT ranks as the nation’s largest private farmland owner. Much of Gates’s acreage was bought in huge tranches, including a group of farmland
assets owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board that was acquired in 2017 and the 2018 acquisition of the 100 Circles acreage in the Horse Heaven Hills of Eastern Washington. Those two purchases alone total an investment of more than $690 million in farmland assets.

Much has changed in the world of nuclear energy since 1979 when the release of The China Syndrome coincided with a partial nuclear melt-down at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station and heightened concerns about nuclear safety. While nuclear power never went away, its share of the world’s electricity generation dropped from a high of nearly 20 percent to less than 10 percent today, according to Bloomberg News.

Rank:

#41

Total Acres:

275,000

View Land Holdings

The official map partner of the Land Report 100.

Articles Featuring Bill Gates

https://landreport.com/the-land-report-winter-2023

The Magazine Of The American Landowner

Please sign me up to receive breaking news and updates from The Land Report:

View Land Holdings

The official map partner of the Land Report 100.

Articles Featuring Bill Gates

https://landreport.com/the-land-report-winter-2023

The Magazine Of The American Landowner

Please sign me up to receive breaking news and updates from The Land Report:

Frequently Asked Land Questions About
Bill Gates

How much farmland does Bill Gates own?

Bill Gates owns 242,000 acres of US farmland, which makes him the nation’s largest private farmland owner.

Which states include Gates’s farmland holdings?

His farmland spans almost 20 states, including substantial holdings in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Nebraska.

Why does Gates own farmland?

His investment firm, Cascade Investment LLC, views farmland as a stable, long-term asset that diversifies his tech-heavy portfolio.

Is Gates involved in farm management?

No, Gates does not manage the farms himself. They are operated by professional farm managers at a Cascade Investment subsidiary, Cottonwood Ag Management.

Is Gates America’s largest landowner overall?

Bill Gates is not America’s largest landowner. Red Emmerson and his family are America’s largest landowners with more than 2.4 million acres. Gates is America’s largest private farmland owner and ranks No. 43 on the 2025 Land Report 100.

Why is Bill Gates buying up farmland?

Bill Gates didn’t decide to buy farmland. His investment firm, Cascade Investment LLC, did as a way to diversify his tech-heavy portfolio.