Is Bill Gates America’s largest landowner?

No. Bill Gates is the largest private farmland owner, but not the largest overall landowner in the United States.

Bill Gates

Q: How much farmland does Bill Gates own?

Bill Gates owns 242,000 acres of U.S. farmland, making him the nation’s largest private farmland owner.

Q: Which states include Gates’s farmland holdings?

His farmland spans nearly 20 states, including major holdings in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Nebraska.

Q: Why does Gates own farmland?

Farmland is held through Cascade Investment LLC as a stable, long-term asset that diversifies a technology-focused investment portfolio.

Q: Is Gates involved in farm management?

No. The farms are operated by professional managers at Cottonwood Ag Management, a Cascade subsidiary.

Q: Why is Bill Gates buying up farmland?

The farmland acquisitions are made by Cascade Investment LLC as part of a diversified long-term investment strategy.

#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.

2026 Update

The plan for the creation of what Bill Gates calls “the most advanced nuclear facility in the world” is nearing criticality. TerraPower, which Gates founded, has endeavored to establish a next-generation, sodium-cooled reactor on 44 acres in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The project cleared a major hurdle in December when the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced that it had completed an evaluation of the project and found “no safety aspects that would preclude issuing the construction permit.”

According to an NRC news release, the staff will provide the safety evaluation and an environmental-impact statement to the NRC for the final phase of the licensing process. The NRC will determine whether the staff’s review supports the findings necessary to issue the permit, likely by February. If TerraPower receives final approval, the company is expected to begin construction of the 345-megawatt plant by the middle of 2026, with a goal of starting commercial service in 2031. The facility will utilize a Natrium system that uses molten salt as a coolant, which is expected to be significantly cheaper than conventional nuclear plants that use pressurized water.

“Today is a momentous occasion for TerraPower, our project partners, and the Natrium design,” TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque said in a statement. “This … reflects years of rigorous evaluation, thoughtful collaboration with the NRC, and an unwavering commitment to both safety and innovation.

“I am deeply proud of our team’s efforts in pioneering the design and licensing of America’s first commercial-scale, advanced nuclear power plant. TerraPower remains focused on delivering the next generation of reliable, flexible power to the grid and long-term jobs for the Kemmerer community.” Gates became interested in Natrium reactors after reading a paper on the topic approximately 20 years ago.

“The design was far safer than any existing plant, with the temperatures held under control by the laws of physics instead of human operators who can make mistakes,” Gates wrote on Gates Notes in 2023. “It would have a shorter construction timeline and be cheaper to operate. And it would be reliable, providing dependable power throughout the day and night.

“As I looked at the plans for this new reactor, I saw how rethinking nuclear power could overcome the barriers that had hindered it and revolutionize how we generate power in the US and around the world.”

The project will have a considerable impact on Wyoming communities. Local workers will be part of a 1,600-person skilled-labor force that will build the plant.

“I believe that the next-generation nuclear power plant TerraPower is building will power the future of our nation — and the world,” Gates wrote. “Everything we do runs on electricity: buildings, technology, and increasingly, transportation. To meet our economic and climate goals, we need more abundant clean energy, not less,” he noted.

“The ground we broke in Kemmerer will soon be the bedrock of America’s energy future. We have taken the biggest step yet toward safe, abundant, zero-carbon energy,” Gates wrote.

Rank:

#43

Total Acres:

275,000

Bill Gates

@ John Keatley

Bill Gates

#43 on the LR 100

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.