While Gates is America's biggest farmland owner, he's far from being the nation's largest landowner in general. That crown belongs to Liberty Media chairman John Malone, who has 2.2 million acres, according to The Land Report.
The biggest chunks of Gates' holdings are in Louisiana and Arkansas, where he owns 69,071 acres and 47,927 acres, respectively, the outlet's research found.
He also reportedly owns about 16,000 acres in his home state of Washington, including a 14,500-acre tract in the Horse Heaven Hills region that was purchased for nearly $171 million.
Apart from Gates, the report said other billionaire private farmland owners include Stewart Resnick and Lynda Resnick, co-founders of Wonderful Company who own 190,000 acres engaged in producing goods such as Wonderland Halos mandarins, Wonderful Pistachios, and POM Wonderful for their brand.
Forbes noted the move into agriculture is not surprising. In 2008, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced $306 million worth grants for farmers in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Besides this, the foundation has also invested in the "development and proliferation of climate change-resistant 'super crops' for which it created an NGO called Gates Ag One," Forbes added.
While it is yet unclear how Gates is using his farmland, Forbes noted that Gates Ag One and Cascade subsidiary Cottonwood Ag Management (which promotes sustainable agricultural practices to protect soil, water resources, and crop), indicate what the purpose could be.
Cascade Investments did not respond to queries, it added.
With 242,000 acres of farmland, the Gates family is now ahead of the rest of the top farmland owners in the country. The next largest farmland owners are the Offutt family, with 190,000 acres, and Stewart and Lynda Resnick with 190,000 acres.
The Offutt family operates a potato farm based in Fargo, North Dakota, as well as owning RDO Equipment, according to agriculture.com. Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the founders of the Wonderful Company, own acreage in California and Texas.
While Gates is America's biggest farmland owner, he's far from being the nation's largest landowner in general. That crown belongs to Liberty Media chairman John Malone, who has 2.2 million acres, according to The Land Report.
