Mapping The Titans: Large Landowners Wield Power And Influence

Many of the world’s wealthiest people made their fortunes in real estate.

Tycoons like Donald Bren, chair of Southern California-based Irvine Co., and Related Cos. Founder Stephen Ross made billions in the real estate industry. And despite the WeWork trainwreck, company Founder Adam Neumann can thank real estate for his $2.2 billion fortune.

Although billionaires nod at real estate for much of the wealth they’ve accumulated, they don’t come anywhere close to being the world’s largest landowners.

That honor goes to King Charles III and the British Royal family, whose 6.6 billion acres account for one-sixth of the surface of the planet, according to a list compiled by Madison Trust Co. The royals’ land holdings are in London, rural Britain and more than 90% of the land in Canada.

Impressive, considering that water covers 71% of Earth’s surface, which leaves about 57 million square miles — 36 billion acres —of land on the planet, according to Madison Trust.

Following the royals at a distant second is the Catholic Church, which owns 177 million acres, including churches, parochial schools, farms and other real estate throughout Italy.

Coming in at No. 3 are the Inuit People of Nunavut in Canada at 87.5 million acres. The Canadian government gave the Inuits the land in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement of 1993. Another Canadian tribe — the Inuvialuit People of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region takes the No. 5 spot with 22.5 million acres of land, which was designated in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement of 1984.

Australians dominate the rest of the list, with Gina Rinehart, the country’s wealthiest person, owning nearly 24 million acres on the continent. Many of the other Australians on the list are involved in agriculture or ranching.

Where Are The Americans?

Conspicuously absent are Americans, but Madison Trust created a separate list of the largest private landowners in the United States.

The Emmerson family tops the list with 2.3 million acres in California, Oregon and Washington. Red Emmerson’s company Sierra Pacific Industries is the largest private lumber production firm in the U.S. with 14 sawmills across the country.

A close second is cable magnate John Malone, who owns 2.2 million acres in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. The Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation is committed to conserving land for communities to use for living, working and playing.

Rounding out the top five are the Reed Family with 2.1 million acres; Ted Turner with 2 million acres; and Stan Kroenke with 1.6 million acres.

The largest ranch in the U.S. is King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas. The 825,000-acre ranch belongs to the King family, who come in 10th on the list. Robert King, a river pilot, first visited the land in 1852.

While not a private landowner, the U.S. federal government owns about 640 million acres, which is 28% of the land in the country. Nevada has the highest percentage of federally owned land — 80% of the state’s 70.3 million acres of land is owned by the government.

If you want to own real estate but can’t afford to buy massive acreages of land, you can invest in rental properties with as little as $100 while staying completely hands-off.