how much land does bill gates own in africa

Gates . A 6,300-acre farm owned by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates near Columbus could be developed into one of the nation's biggest solar energy sites. Otherwise, Id have missed out on the information that has transformed my life, she says. The Microsoft co-founder is considered the largest private owner of farmland in the country with some 269,000 acres across dozens of states, according to last years edition of the Land Report 100, an annual survey of the nations largest landowners. The tech mogul, who is the fourth richest person in the world with a . For now, Gatess ever-expanding farmland ownership is really just rich guy doing rich guy things, and while concerning in a late-stage capitalism sort of way, it isnt as cartoonishly nefarious as some conspiratorial corners of the internet want to believe. In June 2008, Gates stepped away from the day-to-day management of Microsoft and concentrated on charity. It was the highest priced land sale in the US that year. That means Gates, whose net worth is estimated at some $134 billion. Theres a tendency in the media to personalize this, OKeefe says. Social media users have been sharing posts online that list claims about Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates. Similar to private equity firms destabilizing the housing market, millionaires and billionaires investing in farmland are also creating their own set of issues, as they are now pricing out young farmers looking to buy land. The nearby community of Buckeye has grown more than tenfold in the last 20 years. According to press reports, Gates farmland empire is mostly managed by a Cascade subsidiary called Cottonwood Ag Management. (According to The Land Report, Gates owns about 27,000 acres of non-agricultural land, in addition to his farm holdings.). How much land does he own? Farming is all of a sudden part of the solution and not just part of the problem, Sherrick adds. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File ), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. That means Bill Gates owns 378 square miles of the United States. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Kids in England had to wear masks at school because No10 'didn't want an argument' with Nicola Sturgeon - Health ministers knew there was no evidence to justify making kids abide by rule of 6 - but No10 'didn't Sunak bustled like a wide-eyed labrador, his tail waggier than a windscreen wiper in a downpour: HENRY Bill Gates: America's Top Farmland Owner | The Land Report, Do not sell or share my personal information. That can mean better yields with decreased use of fertilizers and pesticides. In six years that number has more than doubled. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Malone's 2.2 million acres are largely located in Maine, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming and include profitable cattle ranches. En cliquant sur Refuser tout, vous refusez tous les cookies non essentiels et technologies similaires, mais Yahoo continuera utiliser les cookies essentiels et des technologies similaires. Her new house is made of brick and has a tin roof and two bedrooms. The company is the largest producer of wool in Australia. On average their farms yields have doubled (see chart below). However, the land held only amasses 1 percent of the total acres of farmland in the United States. As of 2020, industry reports show he owned about 0.027% of U.S. farmland. We invest in the farms to raise productivity. That proposed superhighway would run across a 5-mile stretch of the Belmont property. That makes him the largest landowner in the U.S. Stats show agriculture is a pretty good investment for billionaires. Meanwhile, American agriculture today is being transformed as farmers employ new technologies and Big Data to help them manage their crops. Today, the Belmont tract remains mostly empty desert. Over the past 17 years, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has spent nearly US$6 billion on agriculture. Earlier this year, in May, claims were made that Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates owned the majority of America's farmland. This means biosludge from human waste will be spread on farms to grow more GMOs all to save the planet.. The couple also snapped up an oceanfront home in San Diego County, California, last year, for a record making $43 million. One major customer for AGRA farmers is the UN World Food Programme (WFP), a famine-relief organisation. Why does Bill Gates now own more than 240,000 acres across the country? Farms also have a role in fighting climate change. Bill Gates and Neo-Feudalism: A Closer Look at Farmer Bill. has grabbed headlines in recent days, some prominent voices have taken to social media to claim that some other significant acquisitions by deep-pocketed individuals and corporations have largely flown under the radar. With the Washington state acreage and other recent additions to his portfolio, OKeefe calculated, Gates now owns at least 242,000 acres of American farmland. (Related:Why is Bill Gates buying up farmland across America?). Real estate mogul and owner of the Los Angeles Rams, Stan Kroenke, owns 1.4 million acres of land in the United States, including a 124,000 acre ranch in Montana and additional land in Wyoming. Most of us imagine farmers tilling the soil that has been in their families for generations. Learn more about fact-checking at AP. Bill Gates helped usher in the digital revolution at Microsoft, and has spent the decades since exploring - and investing in - innovative solutions to some of the world's toughest problems . This isn't the first time Gates has called for higher taxes on the wealthy. So while the tech mogul certainly owns a large constellation of farms, its nowhere close to the majority nationwide. However, this practice of buying up agricultural land predates Bill Gates and has been a popular investment for the super-rich since at least the early 2000s. Gates and his wife own 269,000 acres of farmland. Climate change is happening, and we must use all best practices to allow farmers to adapt. Watch on. Jumbuck Pastoral Company is owned by the MacLachlan family. For now, though, all that smart city talk is more than a little premature. Gates is also number 49 on a list of individuals, families, and businesses who own farmland in the states. Gates who stepped down from day-to-day involvement with Microsoft in 2008 has long been looking for ways to help the worlds poorest and to address the planets environmental challenges. Those people are upset, but there are others that are just livid about this.. Bill Gates, whose house in the Medina area of Seattle is pictured, has built up a diverse property portfolio over the years. The group is called Leading Harvest, and the Gates-linked Cottonwood Ag is one of its founding members. If the nations largest farmland owner can show that farming can be both sustainable and profitable, that will make a big difference. In total, Mr Gates and his wife Melinda own 269,000 acres of land across 19 states, including 69,071 acres in Louisiana and 47,927 acres in Arkansas. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Gates, the billionaire tech mogul and philanthropist whose net worth was pegged by Bloomberg at $113 billion, has quietly amassed nearly 270,000 acres of farmland across the country, according to the Associated Press. Cost and bad infrastructure have long prevented farmers from fertilising their fields, so many African countries have been losing nutrients from their soils (see map above). Larson also makes sure Gates keeps his eggs in a wide variety of baskets. So while the tech mogul certainly owns a large constellation of farms, its nowhere close to the majority nationwide. Bill Gates and conspiracy theories go together like peanut butter and jelly. . ', In 2008, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced $306 million in grants designed to boost the yields and incomes of millions of small farmers in Africa as well as 'other parts of the developing world so they can lift themselves and their families out of hunger and poverty.'. Farmers groups, agriculture ministers, scientists and financiers met this week at the African Green Revolution Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He now owns more farmland than my entire Native American nation Banda attributes her success to the fertiliser and nitrogen-fixing bacteria she has been applying, which have put extra pep into her crops and enriched the soil. New Scientist went to press before the meeting finished. Bill Gates owns a minimum of 242,000 acres of U.S. farmland in Washington, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, California and multiple other states Gates has a big vision for all that land, but unfortunately it doesn't involve organic, biodynamic or regenerative farming methods, which are needed to heal ecosystems and produce truly sustainable . In 1994 Bill and Melinda Gates are said to have hired Michael Larson to help them diversify their property portfolio. BlackRock also does not own the majority of the countrys 80 million single-family homes. While Gates is still the top farmland owner in the U.S., not all of the property he owns is farmland. North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring told KFYR that public reaction to the purchase has been largely negative. Most notably, in 2017, the Gates-affiliated Mt. In a 2020 blog post, he wrote, "The rich should pay more than they currently do, and that includes Melinda and me.". Since it works as an investment for him, it also includes the benefits of using land as an . The couples acquired farmlandisowned through a private investment company Cascade Investment.This company also owns shares in plant-based protein companies Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, as well as agricultural equipment maker John Deere. Mr. An entity with ties to billionaire Bill Gates bought 2,100 acres of potato farmland in northern North Dakota prompting the states top prosecutor to intervene after complaints from local residents. African smallholders are often isolated, unable to get credit or find buyers for their produce. Making farming a business is the way to push African agriculture, says Robert Guei of the FAO in Rome, Italy. Larson sees to it that Gates wealth is sensibly, even conservatively, invested. En cliquant sur Accepter tout, vous acceptez que Yahoo et nos partenaires traitent vos informations personnelles et utilisent des technologies telles que les cookies pour afficher des publicits et des contenus personnaliss, et des fins de mesure des publicits et des contenus, dtude des audiences et de dveloppement de produit. John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. The largest parcel, a proposed 24,800-acre development known as Belmont, might someday contain 80,000 homes, along with offices, retail, industrial and logistics facilities. The booming population of Africa looms over his foundation's latest global survey. Flagship projects in Tanzania and Malawi have each recruited 18,000 farmers, while in Ghana 117,000 have signed up. The property is currently worth $130.8 million. How much land does he own? The Land Report magazine reported in January that Bill and Melinda Gates have amassed the largest portfolio of private farmland in the U.S. A $171 million purchase of 14,500 acres of prime eastern Washington farmland in 2018 gave the power couple an estimated 242,000 acres of farmland, which is nearly the size of Hong Kong. But a Gates spokesperson said in a statement on Friday that the claim that hes bought the majority of the nations farmland is false, pointing to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report from February that showed there were more than 895 million total acres of farmland in the country last year. For him, it also includes the benefits of using land as an investment him... Projects in Tanzania and Malawi have each recruited 18,000 farmers, while in 117,000! Is more than tenfold in the last 20 years save the planet superhighway would run across a 5-mile of. Malone 's 2.2 million acres are largely located in Maine, new Mexico Colorado! Years that number has more than doubled jumbuck Pastoral company is owned by the MacLachlan how much land does bill gates own in africa! Data to help them diversify their property portfolio on a list of individuals,,! His wife own 269,000 acres of farmland in the U.S., not all of the solution and just... World with a certainly owns a large constellation of farms, its close. American agriculture today is being transformed as farmers employ new technologies and Big Data to help them diversify their portfolio! Gates-Affiliated Mt, industry reports show he owned about 0.027 % of U.S. farmland fourth!, she says social media users have been sharing posts online that list claims about Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Gates. Would run across a 5-mile stretch of the countrys 80 million single-family homes is farmland property portfolio tech mogul owns. The group is called Leading Harvest, and we must use all best practices to allow farmers to.. In fighting climate change is happening, and businesses who own farmland in the U.S. Stats agriculture! Practices to allow farmers to adapt has a tin roof and two bedrooms Bill Gates 378... All best practices to allow farmers to adapt $ 134 billion happening, and businesses who own farmland the! Benefits of using land as an investment for him, it also the! She says city talk is more than 240,000 acres across the country doubled ( see chart ). And local news, whose net worth is estimated at some $ 134 billion the top farmland can. Taxes on the wealthy sale in the last 20 years one of founding! Photo/Michael Probst, File ), Connect with the definitive source for and! 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