logo
Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Brief Publisher Logo
FACT BRIEF

Is Bill Gates the largest farmland owner in America?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
Copy link
email
Copy featured image
email
YES

Bill Gates is the largest owner of farmland in the U.S., with holdings totaling 242,000 acres, according to The Land Report and NBC News. He also owns 25,750 acres of transitional land and 1,234 acres of recreational land. Gates began acquiring farmland in 2013. The value of his assets is estimated at $690 million.

His farmland has been used to grow traditional crops, such as soybeans, corn, cotton and rice. Gates has made few public statements about his farmland, but clarified that his investment group was behind the decision to acquire farmland, and that it is not related to his philanthropic efforts to combat climate change.

There are 1.29 billion acres of private agricultural land in the U.S. As of December 2020, Chinese investors own 191,652 acres—less than 0.05% of foreign-held agricultural land in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
The Land Report Bill Gates: America’s top farmland owner
NBC News McDonald's french fries, carrots, onions: all of the foods that come from Bill Gates farmland
US Department of Agriculture Foreign Holdings of US Agricultural Land
Center for Strategic and International Studies Foreign purchases of US agricultural land
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
FACT BRIEF BY
Brief Publisher Logo
Latest fact briefs
facebook
twitter
email
email
About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.