The Lydas are Texas cattle ranchers and landowners. Zane & Tanya Kiehne:345,000 acres in New Mexico and Texas. Nuf said. The J.R. Simplot Company is one of the largest agribusinesses in the country, but per their website and despite that profit margin, their company is as small as a single farmer. With holdings as far as New Zealand, the Idaho-based company is a little larger than a single farm. Stan Kroenke: 1.4 million acres in Montana and Wyoming. 39. David Fasken, a Canadian, bought a ranch in West Texas in 1913 and the discovery of oil on the property led to the ceation of the Fasken Oil & Ranch, a major oil drilling. Its also home to some of the biggest landowners in the country. Family members maintain a long-time lumber company. Pingree heirs:830,000 acres in Maine. 212,985 acres Father George Hearst hit silver after coming to California as a 49er and expanded into minerals and ranching. Our stock have an uncommonly high rate of gain with heavy yearling weights. No word on the 0-60 time. Roughly equal to: Two-thirds the size of Yosemite National Park. 110,000 acres 38. Their investments demonstrate the potential of private land ownership in New Mexico and its value to people and nature. 179,129 acres Among them is Ted Turner, founder of CNN and owner of private land and ranches spanning across New Mexico. Roughly equal to: A third of the size of New Hampshire. Family members are heirs to theAnheuser-Busch beer empire. His Crossroads Ag grows corn, canola, sunflowers, sorghum, wheat and cotton, but he recently expanded into New Mexican grasslands for large-scale cow-calf operations. The discovery of oil on that ranch propelled Fasken to wealth, and now Fasken Oil & Ranch is a major oil drilling company that has heavily employed fracking technology. Background: Joseph M. Huber's success as a sales agent for his family's pigments and manufacturing business back in the late 1800s grew into a diversified corporation that spans many industries from paper and energy to plastics and construction. Were basically just marketing grass, he told Western Horseman, and the cows are a way to market the grass.. Mmmm-mm! Family patriarch Sid Richardson once owned oil fields from Texas to Louisiana, but St. Josephs Island of the Gulf Coast of Texas was his prize. 33 - North Carolina Roughly equal to: One-tenth the size of Connecticut. The park also boasts abundant wildlife populations, including large herds of elk, deer, bison, and antelope. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. We think of William Randolph Hearst as the newspaper mogul whispering Rosebud to an empty room, but the family fortune started with land. Dont mess with Texas, and never, ever mess with a Texas ranching family. The family, thanks to the property which amounts to roughly twice the size of Chicago, was able to enrich themselves off uranium and coal discovered on the land, located in the western half of the state. We can only imagine what the state will look like in the coming years! Koch Ranches Inc. specializes in high-quality grass-fed beef. Family members have run a long-time lumber business. 24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. 113,532 acres May take the cake in the category of multigenerational landholdings. Boyd jumped 10 places to sit among America's 50 largest landowners after adding 18,253 acres to his portfolio. Do fence them in. Shannon Kizer: 302,000 acres inArizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The federal government is the top landowner in New Mexico, controlling over 24 million acres. Then there's Subway sandwich shop franchise founder Peter Buck, who at No. Climbed the rankings this year by adding land between Dallas and Waco to his Texas panhandle holdings. Singleton family: 1.1 million acres in New Mexico and California. Its recreational offerings include hunting, fishing, and eco-tourism activities. The largest landowners in both Montana and Idaho, the Wilks brothers also own ranches in Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas. Land: Operates 825,000 acres of cattle ranches and 60,000 acres of farms in South Texas; thousands of acres in Florida producing orange juice, sugar cane, sod, sweet corn and green beans. He also liked alliteration. Enter your email in the box below to get the most mind-blowing animal stories and videos delivered directly to your inbox every day. The Barta family, which owes its wealth to its prescription services company, Sav-Rx, now owns one of the largest cattle ranching operations in the state. St. Louis businessman Leo Drey began making sizable donations of Missouri forest land to the non-profit in the 1960s. But did you know that relatively few people hold the reins on vast expanses of the country's pastures? Ancestor Captain Samuel Burnett negotiated a 300,000 acre lease with famed Comanche leader Quanah Parker. He relied on friend Teddy Roosevelt when he needed a two-year extension of the lease. (Just kidding. He now owns and manages spreads in Texas, Montana and Wyoming. His purchase of the enormous Corn Ranch in West Texas was part nostalgia and part business. Anne Marion: 275,000 acres in Texas, including the famous 6666, or "Four Sixes" cattle ranch in the Southern Panhandle, which is close to 150 years old. Robert East, great-grandson of Richard King (see #7), funded the foundation to build ranches compatible for livestock and wildlife in South Texas. He has used portions of those settlement to buy three ranches where he hunts, raises cattle, and one might hope, doesnt smoke. Then there's the Killiams at No. here is a look at how much land the government owns in every state, The Land Report magazines 2018 Land Report, Growing 600lbs of gourmet mushrooms a week, Wisconsin's dairy industry would collapse without them, Here is a look at the richest person in every state, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Together, his family owns 390,000 acres. Cant say we expected any less from someone named Crowbar Beggs. Today, between his fifth, sixth, and seventh generation of descendants, Pingree's heirs own some 830,000 acres mostly in Maine through Seven Islands Land Co., a lumber company. 13. The Irving family is the sixth largest private landholder in the United States. Errol Galt is the former Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Game commissioner. Family members are mostly cattle ranchers. . Vermejo Park is the only Turner ranch operating as a full-service guest ranch. Thomas Peterffy arrived in the United States as a refugee from Hungary in 1965. Since earning a $350 million dollar payday from Clorox, Quimby has been buying land she hopes will become Maine Woods National Park. 1,860,000 acres 36. Baron Collier, an advertising executive who developed land and infrastructure in southern Florida, had been largest landholder in the state at the time of his death. The oil and gas business man developed a love for land on his grandparents farm. Roughly equal to: Ten and a half times the size of Hilton Head Island, SC. 730,000 acres Lastly, the National Park Service controls 1.9% of New Mexicos land, and the Fish and Wildlife Service owns 1.3%. John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. Roughly equal to: Six-and-a-half times larger than Detroit. Get the latest tips you need to manage your money delivered to you biweekly. Zane and Tanya Kiehne own ranches that span seven counties in New Mexico and seven counties in Texas and consists mostly of mountainous terrain that is home to a variety of wildlife. The parcel is roughly the size of Hong Kong. 111,977 acres 48. 25 had died from starvation. 2,200,000 acres Buck, who as owner of Tall Timber Trust, one of the largest owners of timberland in Maine, controls 925,00 acres. it's curious that the largest private landowner in America chose an office location, an hour from . Vermejo Park Ranch, located in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, is a stunning 560,000-acre property. 4. The majority of the land controlled by the private owners is West of the Mississippi River, with exceptions in Maine and Florida. A logging family with a state-of-the-art $30 million softwood sawmill in Ashland, Maine. Land: Holdings in many states. (Say that ten times fast). The founder of Burts Bees hopes she isnt on the list for long. Background: After Mark Reed married the daughter of Sol Simpson at the turn of the century, the Reed family continues to operate the privately owned Simpson Investment Company that is one of the oldest forest products companies in the Pacific Northwest. Their land includes the 190,000 acre Sunlight Ranch in Montana, just outside of Yellowstone National Park. 36 to 40 Ted Turner is not the biggest. Will Moursund runs the ranches now, but father A.W. 100,000 acres Land: 250,000-acre Baughman Farms in Kansas; 149,493-acre Overland Trail Cattle Company & Ranch in Wyoming and 35,000 acres in Colorado. A third generation now steers the Monahan Cattle Co. in Nebraska. The fifty private land owners who own the most land in the US, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and CNN founder Ted Turner, have been revealed in a new investigation. A good old picture of the American heartland. Turner's land is utilized by greater than 50,000 head of buffalo for grazing - the biggest non-public herd of bison on the earth. Family members have had a long-time timber business. His space firm Blue Origin uses it to test. The family's 1.1 million acres of land also includes land in California. The former media tycoon made his wealth building the company Tele-Communications Inc., or TCI, which he sold to AT&T for $50 billion 20 years ago. Collier was the largest landholder in the state at the time of his death. 13/20 Henry Singleton cofounded the industrial conglomerate Teledyne in 1960, and begin acquiring ranch land in New. Another logging family with the heart of a tree hugger. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. The family harvests hardwood timber from the land. Background: Robert Earl Holding's success began in the oil industry where he owns three refineries and bought Sinclair Oil in 1976. 44, with 277,000 acres of ranches that fuel the family's cattle and oil interests. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The family's 1.7 million acres of land are primarily spread across Washington, Oregon, and California. Land: Idaho, agribusiness. When she's not out in nature, she's writing about it. Land: Oilfields and ranchlands throughout Texas. Originating from the land grant days of Coastal Texas, the Jones have multiple ranches surrounding Corpus Cristi, Texas. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Luther and Frank King independently run their cattle operations in the heart of Texas. Cowboys on horseback still work these New Mexico ranches. The King Ranch heirs own a four-parcel ranch in southern Texas that spreads across 825,000 acres, making it the largest ranch in the state. CNN founder Ted Turner is the second biggest land owner, with 2 million acres of land in New Mexico, South Dakota, Nebraska and Georgia. Today, his family owns some 280,000 acres, primarily in Collier County, which is named after him. The combined landholdings of former Texas governor, the late Dolph Briscoe Jr., heirs total 640,000 acres. The couple are ranch operators. The Coloradoans focus on buffalo ranching, cattle ranching and farming. This put them at the top of the list for the largest landowners in New Mexico. Their land is primarily made of up six cattle ranches in Utah. CNN founder Ted Turner may own more land in New Mexico than his friend and longtime business partner John Malone who bought the 290,100-acre Bell Ranch in northeastern New Mexico in 2010, but . Billy Green still oversees the ranch from Albany, Texas, which won the 2002 American Quarter Horse Association Best Remuda Award. For now, heres the compromise: 70,000 acres of parkland, 30,000 for hunting, snowmobiling, and logging. They are holding all that land for future development or mineral exploration. Collier was the largest landholder in the state at the time of his death. 28. Where is the best hunting ranch in California? She runs the popular Pioneer Woman blog under the slogan, Plowing through life in the country one calf nut at a time. Which probably does not make her blog, like, particularly popular with calves. Just as theres a language around buying a car, theres a dialect for selling bull semen. Thank you for reading! The family businesses include lumber, newspapers, and petrochemicals. The comments below have not been moderated, By Fasken family . The largest landowner in America owns 2,200,000 acres, located largely in Maine, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. 434,500 acres Land: Ranchlands and farms in Texas and Florida. Collectively, the Robinson and Freed families own 300,000 acres in partnership. They list Daniel Harrison, III as the very private heir of his grandfathers oil and ranching empire. The Kokernot family's 06 Ranch brand registered in Texas since 1837. Roughly equal to: The size of Oklahoma City. The Kokernot family's 06 Ranch brand has been registered in the state since 1837. . Among the soccer teams, railroads, movie theaters and newspaper, the Denver billionaire has enough land for what will be one of the largest wind farms in the country. Here is a look at the richest person in every state. The overriding goal is to develop and implement management plans that protect the land. His land is mostly in Maine, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming, and includes profitable cattle farms. The wife and children of the late Robert Earl Holding, who bought Sinclair Oil Corp. for $78 million in 1976, own nearly 400,000 acres. Baron Collier was an advertising executive who developed land and infrastructure in southern Florida. As the founder of Cable News Network and now vice chairman of Time Warner, Ted Turner is famous, even legendary. We have no idea what those Spanish writings say. 33. His book, A Forest for the Trees, documents the history of Maines Baskahegan Watershed from resettlement to 1982. Roughly equal to: Twice the size of Jacksonville, FL. Two of the largest owners of land in Florida are the Fanjul family with their Florida Crystals sugar cane . largest landowners in louisiana. While over a quarter of all land in the United States is owned by the federal government here is a look at how much land the government owns in every state vast swaths of the country are owned by just a handful of individuals and families. The list comes with a thank you from sponsor Gregory W. Fay, owner of real estate brokerage Fay Ranches, to the top 100 for helping to produce the food we eat, and providing so much of the habitat for our fish and wildlife. Its a nice pat on the back if your portfolio just crossed the 100,000 acre mark. 30. 39. Holding family:395,030 acres in Montana. These private individuals and entities significantly impact the lands environment and culture. The Reese Family started with a 320 acre homestead and just kept adding to it including an extra 5,200 acres this year. The Martin family, owners of the nearly 100 year old RoyOMartin Lumber Company, have over half a million acre of land, largely in Louisiana. Brad Kelley's investment group purchased the 762-acre Calumet Farm, a thoroughbred horse breeding and training facility in Kentucky, in 2012. In 1864, great-great-grandmother Elizabeth Sinclair bought Niihau, the Forbidden Island of Hawaii, for $10,000 in gold from King Kamehameha V. Since, the family has honored the islands traditional culture, but not always to commercial success. Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. Bezos owns 420,000 acres, much of which is in west Texas. Land: Oil and gas divisions throughout the West and Southwest; timber units across Maine, Oklahoma, and the Southeast. And at No. The Babbitts are long-time Arizona cattle ranchers who have been in the area since 1886. Ted Turners holdings make him one of the top private landowners in New Mexico. Fasken family:279,128 acres in Texas. 2. The top 100 landowners of America, who collectively own about the same amount of acreage as the state of Connecticut. Waggoner's began expanding his father's ranching interests and established what is known today as the W.T. 135,000 acres The Lykes heirs own in Florida a 337,000 acre ranch, which includes sugar cane and cattle operations, as well as a 264,555 acre ranch in west Texas. The Land 100 is great, but Forbes list of billionaires gets way more personal. 14 to 21 | Nos. The McDonald family's 474,000 acres are spread across Alabama, Florida, and Oklahoma but the majority of the family's land holdings is in Maine. Their Florida rice and sugar empire built the largest biomass power plant in the country. A few people and families own more than 100 million acres of land in the United States. Remember the great railroad and cattle barons of the 19th century? It's been billed "The Sale of the Century," the largest sale of deeded land in the American West for 60 years: billionaire John Malone 's purchase of the 453 square-mile Bell Ranch in New Mexico . Malone made his fortune as a media tycoon, building the company Tele-Communications, Inc, or TCI, and acting as its CEO before selling it to AT&T for $50 billion in 1999. Roughly equal to: Twice the size of Dallas. Owned the 06 Ranch nearly a century after its founding. Much of Turner's land is used as grazing land for over 50,000 head of buffalo - the largest private herd of bison in the world. Robinson & Freed families:300,000 acres in Utah. David Fasken, a Canadian lawyer, bought the massive C Ranch from the Texas General Land Office in 1913. 1 to 6 | Nos. 270,000 acres 220,000 acres New Mexico is a big state. 8. At their production sale, the Powell Family promises cows with, a heavily muscled quarter with a thick loin designed for maximum performance. In 2014, the family-owned Port Blakely Mill Company will celebrate its sesquicentennial. The cowboy favorite is buttermilk piesugar, eggs and rich dairy products loaded into a couple of pie pans. Through Sierra Pacific, the family owns some 2 million acres in California and Washington. A study found that 31 million acres, or 1.4 per cent of the country's total land mass, is under the control of the private owners, who are noticeably wealthy, white and older. Most of Ware's holdings are controlled by the Holland M. Ware Charitable Foundation, which helps several causes, including animal welfare. Land: Approximately half a million acres of timberland east of the Mississippi.