The Lee family comes in at No. Their historic 55,709-acre Rockpile Ranch in Far West Texas is listed for $54.8 million. The US in total has 2.4 billion acres, and is the third largest country in the world after Canada and Russia, the latter being the largest and covering 11.5 per cent of the planet. Roughly equal to: Twice the size of San Antonio, Texas. Dan Hughes, patriarch of the Hughes family, was a wildcatter in Texas. While true to their legendary ranching roots, the heirs of King Ranch Inc. have diversified their portfolio to include land for pecans, citrus, turf grass and vegetables. But while neither landowner's name may be a household name, the names of others are. Still, the family hasnt climbed in this years rankings. And the land, while private, is still use for commercial purposes, the 24/7 Wall Street investigation found. Abell currently serves as the vice president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, a trade group with membership exceeding 15,000 in Texas and Oklahoma alone. Herbert Westervelt started a paper company in the late 1800s. Emmerson family:2.0 million acres in California and Washington. (The other? Clayton was set to bring his cowboy image to the Texas governorship until a set of gaffs derailed the campaign in 1990. His land holdings have helped knit together 800,000 acres of publicly and privately protected land from Colorados Great Sand Dunes National Park to Northern New Mexico. 200,000 acres He has used portions of those settlement to buy three ranches where he hunts, raises cattle, and one might hope, doesnt smoke. Bezoss holdings make him one of the top landowners in the state. 32. Billy Green still oversees the ranch from Albany, Texas, which won the 2002 American Quarter Horse Association Best Remuda Award. (If youve made it to #81, that joke is especially for you. 100,000 acres (Say that ten times fast). Moursund III must have been one hell of a judge. . This businessman has ranch holdings in Texas, Florida, and New Mexico. Manages ranches only fit for the best cowboys. Remember the great railroad and cattle barons of the 19th century? Background: Anne Marion is the fourth generation heir to Samuel Burnett, a cattle rancher who amassed more than a third of a million acres in Texas by the early 1900s. The owners of the land are heirs to the late Dr. Howell Tyson Lykes, who left a career in medicine to raise cattle and crow citrus. Background: The Ford familys Roseburg Forest Products had its origins in 1936 when the Roseburg Lumber Company was founded by owner Kenneth Ford. His marriage to Ann Walkton Kroenke, an heir to the Wal-Mart fortune, likely adds to his good fortune. Roughly equal to: Half the size of Rhode Island. Ford made a career in the timber business during the Great Depression. 22 to 27 | Nos. Errol Galt is the former Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Game commissioner. Fisher family:440,000 acres in California. When the Suggs relocated their cattle from Texas to Oklahoma, they found buckets of oil under their new land. 200,000 acres The top 100 landowners of America, who collectively own about the same amount of acreage as the state of Connecticut. Richard Bransons spaceport is just a quick drive away. 105,119 acres Originating from the land grant days of Coastal Texas, the Jones have multiple ranches surrounding Corpus Cristi, Texas. D.R. 270,000 acres They love tradition. 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. A good old picture of the American heartland. Irving family:1.2 million acres in Maine. Roughly equal to: Three times the size of Detroit. as well as other partner offers and accept our. Below are the nuts and bolts of the list along with some extra insights. For now, heres the compromise: 70,000 acres of parkland, 30,000 for hunting, snowmobiling, and logging. The founder of Southern Pine Plantations diversified from timberland in the U.S. South with the purchase of 20,000 acres of mineral rights in East Texas. 400,000 acres The Reese Family started with a 320 acre homestead and just kept adding to it including an extra 5,200 acres this year. Founded by Thomas Douglas Stimson, the Stimson Lumber Company, which today operates out of the Pacific Northwest, has remained in the family for six generations. Background: Robert Earl Holding's success began in the oil industry where he owns three refineries and bought Sinclair Oil in 1976. You could plan the ultimate fishing trip or hike in the states stunning National Parks. The Bass family, at No. Lastly, the National Park Service controls 1.9% of New Mexicos land, and the Fish and Wildlife Service owns 1.3%. Peter Buck made his fortune as a founding partner of the Subway restaurant franchise. John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. Their land is used for a range of resource extraction industries, including timber, sand and gravel, and oil. 26. His purchase of the Sierra Grande Lodge and Spa brings tourists closer to two of his landmark properties and, ya know, space. 500,000 acres 44. Ted Turner tops the list, with more than 2 million acres spread across 12 states. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Ralph R. Ortega For Dailymail.com, 443,091 acres in Idaho. 280,000 acres Philip Anschutz: 434,500 acres in Wyoming and Colorado. Horton:503,000 acres in New Mexico and Texas, where he hosts a children's summer camp. The cable billionaire from Denver added two properties in Wellington, the epicenter of South Floridas equestrian community, and an Irish castle with a solid set of stables. The Lee Family owns an estimated 275,000 acres in New Mexico. The type of resources that help them manage their land responsibly and sustainably. After his family made a killing in the oil and gas business, Dan Allen Hughes Jr. has attempted to make his name with the purchase Texas hunting land. and J.E. His Anschutz Entertainment Group is also the worlds largest owner and operator of sports and entertainment venues. 6. A forest products firm with Forest Stewardship Council-certified forests in California, Oregon and West Virginia California, Oregon, West Virginia, and one of the largest private holdings in Pennsylvania. 41. Background: Ted Turner founded the Turner Broadcasting System that launched CNN and several other cable successful programs. When she's not out in nature, she's writing about it. The "9" continues under third- and fourth-generation ownership, exemplifying the ranching heritage and tradition. 848,571 acres His aerospace firm Blue Origin uses the land to test space vehicles. The family patriarch owned half a million acres in Texas, and the family fortune grew considerably when his son discovered oil on family land. 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. Her goal is to ensure they receive fair market value. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The real estate mogul is also owner of the Los Angeles Rams and married toAnn Walkton Kroenke, an heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune. An advertisement VanderSloott took out in Idaho Falls Post Register accused a reporter of bringing personal politics to a report on child molestation in a local Boy Scout troop when the reporter had not made his sexuality public. , updated Then there's the Killiams at No. 31 - New Mexico John Malone owns a total of 2.2 million acres of land, with a portion of it being in New Mexico. 290,000 acres These cookies do not store any personal information. This put them at the top of the list for the largest landowners in New Mexico. 18. 535,000 acres Sandwiched between Flagstaff Arizona and the Grand Canyon, the Babbitt Ranches have a reputation for breeding trophy quarter horses. A guy that came to work here once asked me what we wear in the winter, he told Western Horseman. Today, the Simplot family oversees a $2.5 billion farming operation and owns over 443,000 acres, largely in southern Idaho. His properties include the 11,830 Broseco Ranch, which contains two lakes that are 100 acres in size. In 2019, D.K. Billionaire, lumber entrepreneur, real estate developer, and song writer. Boyd jumped 10 places to sit among America's 50 largest landowners after adding 18,253 acres to his portfolio. Family membersoperate ranches. Family members run a long-time lumber business. Thomas OConnor started digging artesian wells for his cattle during the drought of the 1880s, but hit oil as often as water. 115,000 acres The former Reebok CEO now owns James Stewarts old ranch in Nevada and has grazing rights to another three-quarter of a million acres. For a basic sense of how the world of ultra-massive real estate has changed, heres one fact: Between 2012 and 2013, the top 100 added 700,000 acres to their collective portfolios, bringing their total to two percent of the U.S. land mass. O'Connor, above, continued to expand the land his father, Thomas O'Connor, was awarded in the Battle of San Jacinto. 8. It'll be exciting to watch this author grow and learn with her along the way. The familys CS Ranch in Northern New Mexico specializes in breeding prime quarter horses, like stallion Roosters Shorty, who is up for stud on the website. The federal government is the top landowner in New Mexico, controlling over 24 million acres. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. John Riggs has a modern utopia in mind for his great-grandfathers old ranch. Here is a look at the richest person in every state. The Irving family is the sixth largest private landholder in the United States. Ah the Koch Brothers. With over 77 million acres of land, theres plenty of room for people and nature to coexist. The islands ranch closed in 1999, leaving animals to roam freely and almost all residents to leave for other parts of the state. What Lives At The Bottom of The Mississippi River? Our list of the 10 largest landowners in the U.S. in 2020 is based on the data from Land Report. John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. 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. Land: Oil and gas divisions throughout the West and Southwest; timber units across Maine, Oklahoma, and the Southeast. 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 . The family owns numerous properties throughout the northern and eastern part of the state. He founded the Commonwealth Brands tobacco company in 1991 and sold the company in 2001 to Houchens Industries for US$1 billion. The family has harvested hardwood timber from the land for five generations. 130,000 acres Kroenke adds Broken O to Q Creek Ranch, the largest contiguous ranch in the Rocky Mountains at 540,000 acres. Do fence them in. 8. Before he passed away last year, an employee gave Robert Earl Holding a plaque that echoed his credo: All I want is the land next to mine. That land includes ski resorts in Utah and a whole lot of real estate in Salt Lake City, all of which he built from a small stake in a Wyoming truck stop. 212,985 acres Land: Approximately half a million acres of timberland east of the Mississippi. In 2014, the family-owned Port Blakely Mill Company will celebrate its sesquicentennial. The 25 biggest landowners in America own 20 million acres -- nearly 1% of the country -- according to new data from The Land Report. 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 Killam family deals largely in cattle and oil, with ranches in Texas and Oregon and oil operations in Louisiana, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas. Few can claim the title of cowboy philanthropist. Other than running significant cattle farms, Mechenbier and his wife help finance orphanages in New Mexico. The enormous cattle operation near Yellowstone National Park seems not to mind when elk or antelope walk by. . The family-run business has earned high praise from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. 46 withabout 275,000 acres in New Mexico. 16. 149,702 acres And then there are the individuals, including Shannon Kizer, who owns 302,000 acres in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. 1 is John Malone, who can boast being the largest landowner in the US with 2.2 million acres. John Malone:2.2 million acres inMaine, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. Singleton family: 1.1 million acres in New Mexico and California. 46. After oil was discovered on their ranch in the 1940s, the Faskens spread across the Southwest. Their Florida rice and sugar empire built the largest biomass power plant in the country. They also are based on only rural land holdings. Now, Theyre Spurring Tourism. Have some feedback for us? Lykes heirs:615,000 acres in Texas. Largest Landowners by State 2023 Utah 33,000,000 Alaska 12,500,000 California 1,900,000 Maine 1,250,000 Kentucky 1,130,000 New Mexico 1,000,000 Washington 900,000 Texas 825,000 Montana 765,000 Arizona 750,000 Largest Landowners by State 2023 Largest Landowners by State 2023 Their properties include the massive La Escalera ranch in far West Texas. Kizer has farming and ranching operations that produce peanuts, corn, wheat, dairy, and cattle. Family members are ranch operators. Roughly equal to: Three times the size of Dallas. Family members come from theSinclair Oil empire. We have no idea what those Spanish writings say. David Pingree, known as the Merchant Prince of Salem, built an empire that exceeded 1 million acres in the 1800s. Its one of Turners most spectacular ranches. And it only gets bigger from there for several wealthy families. 40. The late Truman Collins was a lumberman who became the largest private landholder in Pennsylvania before his death in 1914. Roughly equal to: Eighty times the size of Los Angeles International Airport. 135,000 acres After over 100 years in operation, its still run by tough men on horses. Fasken family . Waggoner Estate. Hadley family: 260,000 acres including the huge Diamond A Ranch, which takes up a good part of New Mexico's southwestern tip. The Hadley family, Anheuser-Busch heirs, own 260,000 acres, including the massive Diamond A Ranch, which makes up a substantial part of New Mexico's southwestern tip. Funk deals in bull semen lots of bull semen. Sounds like the perfect setting for a combination of Gunsmoke and Beverly Hills: 90210.