This land isn't your land. This land is their land.
Remember the great railroad and cattle barons of the 19th century? Turns out they still own a huge part of the country.
The 25 biggest landowners in America own 20 million acres -- nearly 1% of the country -- according to new data from The Land Report.
Many of them inherited land bought cheap at the turn of the century. Others are self-made millionaires, including John Malone, who just purchased the 290,000 acre Bell Ranch back in August.
Ted Turner tops the list, with more than 2 million acres spread across 12 states.
#25 Fasken Family owns 300,000 acres
Land: Ranches and oilfields throughout Texas.
Background: Toronto attorney David Fasken started buying land in Texas in 1913. After oil was discovered on their ranch in the 1940s, the Faskens spread across the Southwest.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#24 Pat Broe owns 310,000 acres
Land: Holdings in many states. Broe's Hubble & Green Ranches in New Mexico cover 290,000 acres. His Colorado’s Great Western Industrial Park became a major source of the state’s green job growth in 2008.
Background: Broe's investment and asset management company controls over 100 companies in real estate, energy and transportation.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#23 Lyda Family owns 320,035 acres
Land: Ranches throughout Texas.
Background: Gerald Lyda's success in construction and land development in the 70s allowed him to return to ranching and amass over 900,000 acres within his lifetime.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#22 Anne Marion owns 345,000 acres
Land: Oilfields and ranchlands throughout Texas. Her two main ranches, the 6666 Ranch near Guthrie and the Dixon Creek Ranch near Panhandle, total 275,000 acres.
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.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
21. East Family owns 350,000 acres
Land: Ranchland in Texas and New Mexico.
Background: Alice Gertrudis Kleberg East, gave up her interest in her grandfather Richard King of King Ranch estate in exchange for the San Antonio and Santa Fe ranches.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
# 20 Simplot Family owns 355,746 acres
Land: Idaho, agribusiness. The land and livestock division has 37 farms and 15 ranches with capacity for 30,000 mother cows.
Background: The J.R. Simplot Company started its fortune in potatoes but diversified over the years to become one of the largest, privately held food companies in the world.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#19 Robert Earl Holding owns 400,000 acres
Land: Holdings in many states. Ranches in Wyoming and Montana; ski resorts in Utah and Idaho; six other luxury hotels and resorts across the country, including The Grand American Hotel in Salt Lake City.
Background: Robert Earl Holding's success began in the oil industry where he owns three refineries and bought Sinclair Oil in 1976.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#18 Phillip Anschutz owns 434,493 acres
Land: 250,000-acre Baughman Farms in Kansas; 149,493-acre Overland Trail Cattle Company & Ranch in Wyoming and 35,000 acres in Colorado.
Background: Phillip Anschutz's company has investments in energy exploration, telecommunications and agribusiness. His Anschutz Entertainment Group is also the world’s largest owner and operator of sports and entertainment venues.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#17 D.M. O’Connor Heirs owns 500,000 acres
Land: Ranchland and oil fields in Texas.
Background: D.M. O'Connor, above, continued to expand the land his father, Thomas O'Connor, was awarded in the Battle of San Jacinto. Oil was discovered on their cattle ranches and today, the O'Connors now own an estimated half-million acres across Southern and Western Texas.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#16 Holland Ware owns 500,000 acres
Land: Approximately half a million acres of timberland east of the Mississippi.
Background: Holland Ware's fortunes in the timber industry began in the early 50s with his first purchase of 100 acres for $10 when he was 15 years old.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#15 W.T. Waggoner Estate owns 526,000 acres
Land: Ranching and farmland throughout Texas.
Background: W.T. Waggoner's began expanding his father's ranching interests and established what is known today as the W.T. Waggoner Estate.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#14 Briscoe Family owns 560,000 acres
Land: Ranchlands and oilfields throughout Texas
Background: Former Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe Jr., expanded his holdings when oil and gas were discovered on his ranchland.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#13 Huber Family owns 600,000 acres
Land: Oil and gas divisions throughout the West and Southwest; timber units across Maine, Oklahoma, and the Southeast.
Background: Joseph M. Huber's success as a sales agent for his family's pigments and manufacturing business back in the late 1800s grew into a diversified corporation that spans many industries from paper and energy to plastics and construction.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#12 Lykes Bros. Heirs owns 615,000 acres
Land: Ranchlands and farms in Texas and Florida.
Background: The Lykes family-owned company began as a cattle ranching operation and has since expanded into bioenergy and farming.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#11 The Ford Family owns 625,000 acres
Land: Timberland throughout Oregon and California.
Background: The Ford family’s Roseburg Forest Products had its origins in 1936 when the Roseburg Lumber Company was founded by owner Kenneth Ford.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#10 Stan Kroenke owns 740,000 acres
Land: Cow-calf operations on Cedar Creek and PV Ranch in Montana; Q Creek Land & Livestock Company runs up to 12,000 yearlings on 550,000+ acres in Wyoming.
Background: The sports mogul who got his start in real estate just became the majority owner of the St. Louis Rams.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#9 Reed Family owns 770,000 acres
Land: 770,000 acres of timber across California, Oregon, and Washington.
Background: After Mark Reed married the daughter of Sol Simpson at the turn of the century, the Reed family continues to operate the privately owned Simpson Investment Company that is one of the oldest forest products companies in the Pacific Northwest.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#8 Pingree Heirs owns 830,000 acres
Land: 830,000 acres of timberland in Maine.
Background: The Pingree family's fortune in timber began in the mid 1800s and has conserved more than three quarters of a million acres of Maine forestland -- a block larger than the size of Rhode Island.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#7 King Ranch owns 911,215 acres
Land: Operates 825,000 acres of cattle ranches and 60,000 acres of farms in South Texas; thousands of acres in Florida producing orange juice, sugar cane, sod, sweet corn and green beans.
Background: The main cash cow for King Ranch remains ranching and farming but it has also expanded into publishing, retail and eco-tourism.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#6 Singleton Family owns 1.11 million acres
Land: The Singleton ranches comprise of 29 ranches across California and New Mexico, including the picturesque San Cristobal Ranch outside of Santa Fe.
Background: Henry Singleton amassed his wealth in digital technology before purchasing the San Cristobal Ranch in 1986.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#5 John Malone owns 1.2 million acres
Land: Purchased 290,000-acre Bell Ranch in Nex Mexico this August to add to his landholdings in Colorado and Wyoming.
Background: Malone has served in executive positions in telecommunications firms and is currently the chairman of Liberty Media Corp.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#4 Irving Family owns 1.2 million acres
Land: 1.2 million acres of forests in Maine.
Background: The family business, Irving Woodlands, has roots dating back to 1882 when James D. Irving founded a company that included a sawmill, gristmill, lumber business and farms.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#3 Brad Kelley owns 1.7 million acres
Land: Kelley’s properties span Texas, New Mexico, and Florida and are used to breed rare species of animals.
Background: According to Forbes, Kelley founded a tobacco company in 1990 and sold it for $1 billion in 2001.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#2 Red Emmerson owns 1.722 million acres
Land: Approximately two million acres of forestland in California and Washington.
Background: Red Emmerson is president of Sierra Pacific Industries, a family-run lumber manufacturing business that ranks as California's largest private landowner.
Data published with permission from The Land Report.
#1 Ted Turner owns over 2 million acres
Land: Owns 2 million acres in 12 states and Argentina; the 8,800-acre Nonami Plantation known for quail hunting is his most recent and largest acquisition in his home state of Georgia.
Background: Ted Turner founded the Turner Broadcasting System that launched CNN and several other cable successful programs.
Source: 2010 Land Report 100
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