Why is Bill Gates buying up farmland across America? 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. Microsoft founder and billionaire turned philanthropist Bill Gates recently laid to rest the long-time conspiracy theory that he owns some 80% of all U.S. farmland in his 11th appearance in an . "Why are you buying up so much farmland, do you think this is a problem with billionaire wealth and how much you can disproportionally acquire?" It was the highest priced land sale in the US that year. What is the Venus-Jupiter conjunction and how can you view it? He created the pledge in 2010 with his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, and his close friend and Berkshire Hathaway CEO, Warren Buffett. In the words of Bill Gates, 3 billion people need to die. Today, the Belmont tract remains mostly empty desert. That makes January 13, 2000, a key date in "Bill Gates history," because it's the day he stepped down as CEO of Microsoft and began to devote himself to becoming one of the world's most-celebrated . A 2014 Wall Street Journal profile of Larson, Cascade's chief investment officer, hinted at the beginning of that portfolio, after the piece noted that the firm owns 'at least 100,000 acres of farmland in California, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana and other states or an area seven times bigger than Manhattan.'. Farmland in those parts is valuable, commanding prices between $10,000 and $15,000 per acre, far beyond the state average of about $2,000. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Now, its latest report says the scheme is achieving its aims. That means Gates, whose net worth is estimated at some $134 billion according to Forbes annual ranking of the richest people in the country, owns less than one percent of the nations total farmland. 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Large investors usually work with expert advisors to help them acquire and manage their agricultural holdings. Gates owns a 4.5 acre ranch in Wellington, Florida. Amazing, if truebut its extremely not. Since 2017 he reportedly holds a significant stake in 24,800 acres of land on the west side of Phoenix. So why does Bill Gates, and other billionaires like him, keep buying up so much farmland? Bill Gates is buying up the majority of American farmland and BlackRock is buying the majority of single family houses but Im supposed to believe the biggest threat to us is Elon Musk buying Twitter? read one representative tweet thats been liked or shared on the platform more than 250,000 times. Gates owns roughly 275,000 acres of farmland in the US, according to the 2022 edition of the Land Report 100, a yearly survey of the biggest landowners in the country. Get the world's best independent media newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. ', Cascade did not elaborate on the agricultural land purchases other than to say that the company is 'very supportive of sustainable farming. Were connecting [smallholders] to the entire business chain, says Jama. While he owns a significant amount, it is a relatively small slice of the nations nearly 900 million total farm acres. In his annual Reddit AMA Wednesday, Gates was asked why he has bought so much farmland. A new coalition of farmland owners, operators and environmental groups is working to come up with verifiable standards for sustainable farming. The other major problem AGRA is aiming to solve is lack of infrastructure. Total acreage for Bill Gates: Well over 270,000 acres. Bill and Melinda Gates, pictured at The Elysee Palace in 2017 where they received the award of Commander of the Legion of Honor, are now the biggest owners of farmland in the US, a new report revealed, The tech billionaire has quietly bought up 242,000 acres of farmland in 18 states - and 268,984 of multi-use land in 19 states in total, making him the biggest agricultural landowner in the US, though far short of the biggest overall landowner in the country, In 2018, a 'Louisiana investor', later revealed to be Gates, paid $171 million for a large swath of farmland in the Horse Heaven Hill, making it one of the largest real estate transactions in recent memory, In 2014, Gates reportedly purchased more than 4,500 acres in Suwannee County, Florida, for nearly $28 million. We wont even come close.. buying an increasing share of the U.S. housing market. Gates and his wife own 269,000 acres of farmland. According to the Journal, they are even discouraged from using Facebook and other social-media platforms. 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For investors who know what theyre doing, agricultural land offers financial stability in uncertain times. Bill Gates and Neo-Feudalism: A Closer Look at Farmer Bill. Gates has been asked about his farmland purchases before. Expanding the AGRA scheme was set to be high on the agenda, Jama says. Most notably, in 2017, the Gates-affiliated Mt. This article will go into detail about how much land Bill Gates owns and why he owns so much. Farming is all of a sudden part of the solution and not just part of the problem, Sherrick adds. He hopes plant-based substitutes will allow us to cut down on meat eating while still enjoying the taste of meat.. Gates . Without innovation, we will not solve climate change, Gates said. On average their farms yields have doubled (see chart below). Those people are upset, but there are others that are just livid about this.. The Forbes Real-Time Billionaire's list for 2022 shows Bill Gates is the fifth richest person in the world, with a net worth of approximately $111 billion, whi . the latest American Housing Survey by the Census Bureau. In his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Gates explains why raising beef cattle causes more harmful emissions than other forms of agriculture. 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. What does a technology pioneer want with agriculture? NY Post Gates is said to own nearly 270,000 acres of farmland nationwide. This boosted Bandas annual income from $50 to $750 last year. Thanks to the dealers, AGRA farmers now use 10 to 50 kilograms of fertiliser per hectare, and though this is just a tenth to a quarter of what farmers use in rich countries, it is still a big improvement. Bill Gates owns a ton of farmland in the United Statesas in, about 270,000 acres. According to Mother Jones, the average price of farmland increased six times from 1940 to 2015, and the trend is likely to continue as the amount of arable land in the U.S. continues to shrink from climate-related pressures. While he owns a significant amount, it is a relatively small slice of the nation's nearly 900 million total farm acres. According to press reports, Gates farmland empire is mostly managed by a Cascade subsidiary called Cottonwood Ag Management. Adding to the confusion, Blackstone was once a major investor in BlackRock, but sold off its stake in the 1990s. A new report from AGRA says climate change could increase the number of malnourished people in sub-Saharan Africa from 223 million today to 355 million in 2050. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced an immediate commitment of up to $100 million for coronavirus relief on Wednesday. In 2006, he helped launch TerraPower, a company developing a new type of compact, ultra-safe nuclear reactor. New Scientist went to press before the meeting finished. Last year, Cascade Investment made a second major investment in Arizona by acquiring more than 2,800 acres known as Spurlock Ranch in Buckeye for $25 million, that could be built out to include 8,500 homes. The . The tech mogul, who is the fourth richest person in the world with a net worth of $121billion, according to Forbes, has quietly built up a massive agriculture portfolio. The booming population of Africa looms over his foundation's latest global survey. Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, has been revealed as the biggest private owner of farmland in the US, after buying up 242,000 acres in 18 states. 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. "In terms of the very rich I think they should pay a lot more in taxes and they should give away their wealth over time. However, the land held only amasses 1 percent of the total acres of farmland in the United States. Bill Gates and conspiracy theories go together like peanut butter and jelly. It is unclear how cheap biofuels can be but if they are cheap it can solve the aviation and truck emissions.. Soon they came back with the answer: The Louisiana company was acting on behalf of Cascade Investment LLC, the secretive investment firm that manages most of the huge fortune belonging to Bill Gates. Working closely with the World Health . Jumbuck Pastoral Company: 5.75 million hectares. With more productive seeds we can avoid deforestation and help Africa deal with the climate difficulty they already face. People want to know, Why does Bill Gates want all this land? , But hyper-wealthy people like Gates dont make every decision personally, OKeefe notes. That makes Invitation Homes the, largest operator of single-family rental homes in the country, but still represents, BlackRock also suggested it was being confused for the similarly-named i. nvestment management firm Blackstone, which until recently owned Invitation Homes. His environmental bent also extends to farming. While the Gates' own a lot of farmland, nonfarmers own 283 million acres of farmland throughout the U.S. 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 . His magazine, The Land Report, tracks major land transactions and produces an annual list of the 100 biggest US landowners. Earlier this week, North Dakota State Attorney General Drew Wrigley wrote a letter to Red River Trust, care of Headley, notifying it that corporations and limited liability companies were prohibited from owning or leasing farmland or ranchland in the state of North Dakota., Wrigley wrote that these entities were also barred from engaging in farming or ranching.. Since 2016, Gates has led Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a venture-capital fund that invests in clean-technology startups. The financial crisis later in that same decade prompted an explosion of investments into farmland when monetary safe havens became scarce. When Ted Turner bought his Flying D Ranch in Montana in 1989, that was his personal passion, OKeefe says. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, has an alter ego, OKeefe wrote: Farmer Bill, the guy who owns more farmland than anyone else in America., The Land Report scoop made headlines. Bill Gates, whose house in the Medina area of Seattle is pictured, has built up a diverse property portfolio over the years. People involved in the Gates financial empire stress that the familys philanthropic endeavors are kept separate from their investments and business ventures. Why Bill Gates Keeps Buying Up So Much Farmland, Particle Accelerator Reveals Beginning of Time, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Making farming a business is the way to push African agriculture, says Robert Guei of the FAO in Rome, Italy. Social media users have been sharing posts online that list claims about Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates. Gates' farmland now totals 242,000 acres. The area off Interstate 10, called Belmont, has space for 80,000 homes as well as more than 4,000 acres for schools, offices, and stores; and 3,400 acres of open space. Many stories focused on Gates longstanding interest in climate change and sustainability and suggested those concerns might be driving the land purchases. African smallholders are often isolated, unable to get credit or find buyers for their produce. THE FACTS: As Elon Musks bid to purchase Twitter 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. The entity shares the same address as Campbell Farms. . 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