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Monday, Mar. 29, 2021

Is Bill Gates the largest owner of farmland in the US?

Olivera Perkins, Lead Stories
yes

Bill Gates owns 242,000 acres of farmland, according to a forbes.com article, which referenced a landreport.com article. Total farmland in the U.S. totaled 897,400,000 acres in 2019, the latest available number, according to a 2020 United States Department of Agriculture report. That means the Microsoft mogul owns about 0.027% of all of the farmland in the U.S.The Forbes article cites a January 11, 2021, article by The Land Report that credits Michael Larson, who manages the Gates' personal portfolio as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.From The Land Report: "According to a 2014 profile of Larson in the Wall Street Journal, these investments include at least 100,000 acres of farmland in California, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, and other states … According to the Land Report 100 Research Team, that figure is currently more than twice that amount.

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