How & Why Bill and Melinda Gates are the Largest Private Farmland Owners in the U.S.
By Dan Claredon, Market Realist
You think of Bill Gates as more “blue chip” than “blue collar,” but the Microsoft co-founder and his wife, Melinda, made headlines recently when The Land Report concluded that they are the largest private farmland owners in the U.S. And wait until you hear how much farmland the couple owns through their Cascade Investment holding company.
Based on the last report, the couple had at least 100,000 acres of farmland. However, according to The Land Report, the figure is “currently more than twice that amount, which means Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, has an alter ego: Farmer Bill, the guy who owns more farmland than anyone else in America.”