Bill Gates becomes top US farmland owner

Microsoft founder Bill Gates is now the owner of the most farmland in the United States, according to Land Report.

The Land Report researchers concluded that Gates, now the fourth richest man in the world, and his wife, Melinda, own 242,000 acres of farmland.

They own roughly 52,000 more acreages than the Offutt family, who sit at No. 2 on Land Report's list of families who own the most farmland in the U. S.

In total, Bill and Melinda Gates have acquired land in more than a dozen states. However, his largest land holdings are in Louisiana (69,071 acres), Arkansas (47,927 acres), Nebraska (20,588 acres), Arizona (25,750 acres) and Washington state (16,097).

According to Land Report's research, Gates and his wife had hired former Putnam Investments bond fund manager Michael Larson in 1994 to help them diversify their personal assets.

These investments included a stake in AutoNation, the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Mass., the Four Seasons in San Francisco and upward of 100,000 acres of farmland in various states, Land Report said, citing a 2014 profile... (Read more)

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