With the Washington state acreage and other recent additions to his portfolio,. The Michigan State University shooter is a 21-year-old man named Lynn Dee Walker. . The billionaire is one of the founders of the Giving Pledge, which asks the world's wealthiest people to give away most of their fortunes to charitable causes. Land Values: Here's a look at the top 10 absentee landowners in central Illinois, and where they own farmland. Heres why. Why Bill Gates Is Investing In Chicken-Less Eggs, Memphis Meats raised $161 million to grow meat from cells, Bill Gates and Richard Branson backed a food startup which grows meat in labs, How Beyond Meat became a $550 million brand, winning over meat-eaters with a vegan burger that bleeds', Bill Gates headlines an all-star list of investors pumping $75 million into meatless burgers, How Impossible Burgers simple vision won hundreds of millions in funding and backing from Bill Gates. stated on February 26, 2023 a video on Facebook: stated on February 15, 2023 a photo on Facebook: stated on January 29, 2023 a video on Facebook: stated on February 5, 2023 an Instagram post: stated on January 27, 2023 a video on Facebook: stated on January 22, 2023 an Instagram post: stated on January 16, 2023 a photo on Facebook: stated on January 12, 2023 a photo on Facebook: stated on November 6, 2022 an Instagram post: stated on October 26, 2022 a post on Instagram: stated on October 12, 2022 an Instagram post: stated on October 9, 2022 a Facebook post: stated on March 3, 2023 in a Conservative Political Action Conference speech: stated on February 19, 2023 in a Facebook post: stated on February 24, 2023 in an Instagram post: stated on March 2, 2023 in a speech at CPAC: stated on February 25, 2023 in a Facebook post: stated on February 22, 2023 in a Facebook post: stated on February 26, 2023 in an Instagram post: stated on February 27, 2023 in a Facebook post: All Rights Reserved Poynter Institute 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Does this investment say anything about the state of the. 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. But that's just a portion of the vast holdings Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, own from sea to shining sea. Bill Gates owns almost as much U.S. agricultural land as China at 248,000 acres, . Gates believes that subsistence farmers and impoverished peoples will be among the most affected by climate change. The Gates Foundation has focused their efforts on alleviating the aftermaths of climate change since its founding. While Gates is still the top farmland owner in the U.S., not all of the property he owns is farmland. Bill Gates is best-known for cofounding Microsoft, but he's also a major US landowner, having bought 275,000 acres of farmland. Interestingly enough, though the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is working on this agriculture initiative. "It is not connected to climate. The report states that Gates has 70,000 acres of land in North Louisiana where they grow soybeans, corn, cotton. Here are a few likely reasons why Bill Gates is scooping up farmland: Whatever you may think about the man himself, he has consistently made investing choices that brought him unusual and incredible returns, and this has brought him great wealth when others made the wrong fiscal moves, and lost much. Bill Gates and his estranged wife Melinda Gates have accumulated more than 269,000 acres of farmland across 18 American states. This article Bill Gates Finally Explains Why He's Buying So Much U.S. No, its the Roman Catholic Church. Read next:Bezos-Backed Startup Lets You Become A Landlord With $100. He has also been aproponent of chicken farming. Farmland has some natural built-in drawbacks for all of the built-in benefits: Just 20 years ago, it was difficult to invest in farmland if you werent already independently wealthy. The Gates have been quietly acquiring farmland through their investment manager, Cascade Investment, for over 10 years. These states include: Arizona - 25,750 acres; Arkansas - 47,927 acres . Louisiana is the top state. What Happened: Gates answered dozens of questions over the course of a few hours during the AMA, including: 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?, He responded, I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US. How Many Hours Is It From Detroit To Michigan? Gates started purchasing farmland circa 2013 through his investment group, Cascade Investments. As of 2020, industry reports show he owned about 0.027% of U.S. farmland. Why Is Bill Gates Buying So Much Farmland? The total portfolio of farmland is worth well over $700 million. The. Since his divorce, it is unclear how the assets were split up between the couple. This is especially helpful if, say, the stock market crashed, and you had a more aggressive stock portfolio (or any large stake in stock at all). Gates' farmland purchases, which have mostly been made in the last five years, started in 2017 when he bought $520 million of farmland spread over five dozen properties from the Canada. Why? He has also written on his personal blog about the future of food, the increasing demand for meat as the global population rises and the environmental effects of livestock farming. However, Microsoft wasn't Bill Gates' only successful venture. Gates said during a Reddit AMA: My investment group chose to do this. Satellites are on balloons and not in space.. The state bars corporations and limited liability companies from owning or even leasing farmlands or ranches and has other limits on trusts, yet the . Partnering with Monsanto to create these super seeds is also part of the plan. Bill Gates Uses Farmland as an Investment Outlet Buying up Potato, Carrot and Onion Farms. NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/mcdonald-s-french-fries-carrots-onions-all-foods-come-bill-n1270033. It is reported that Bill Gates owns over 269,000 acres of farmland in over a dozen states, making him the largest farmland owner in America. The tweet had gathered over 215,000 likes at the time of writing. for different crops that have been gene edited to be pest-proof, flood proof, disease proof, and climate change-resistant. Over the last decade, Bill Gates has invested in multiple companies, including Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, that develop plant-based meat alternatives. In a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) last week, Gates once again fielded a question pertaining to his AG holdings and stated that he actually only owns 1/4000 of all U.S. farmland, or about 270,000 acres spread across 18 different states. Suggests virologists death is linked to COVID-19 vaccines. Oversight," June 15, 2018, The Chicago Tribune, "Chicken nuggets and cream cheese grow in trays in a South Side lab. In Washington, the duo owns more than 14,000 acres of farmland that includes potato . To put that into perspective, if you put all of the land that Gates owns into one place (his holdings are spread throughout the country), you'd cover an area about a quarter the size of Rhode Island. So, what's the interest in farmland? AREA 8 CASH CROPS AND DAIRY Area 8 is the leading cash crop area in Michigan. Heres why.," Jan. 10, 2023. News reports from the last several years suggest that Gates has at different times invested in start-ups focused on developing artificial or plant-based alternatives to meat, such as Natures Fynd, Hampton Creek, Memphis Meats, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. The Land Reportmagazine 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. The figure cited by The Land Report was subsequently reported by major news outlets including Business Insider and Forbes (here), (here). See MCL 436.1701., Michigan taxpayers are allowed to take a number of exemptions, depending on the number of people in the taxpayers household, their ages, and other factors, If the defendant is held for more than 24 hours without being brought before the court under subsection (2), the officer in charge of the, An ORV or off-road vehicle is a motor-driven, recreational vehicle capable of driving on a range of terrains not limited to roadways and, Michigan leads the nation in tart cherry production. All rights reserved. Who is the largest farmer in the United States? Agriculture and the National Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, in the United States there are 362,315,055 hectares of farmland. Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - join Benzinga Pro for free! Bill Gates (AP Images) Bill Gates is buying up America's farmland. as well as other partner offers and accept our. While this is certainly a lot of acreage, it represents less than 1% of all the farmland in the United States. He had accumulated more than 269,000 acres of farmland across 18 states in less than a decade. However, there are also countless farmland investing platforms gaining traction now too. That makes him the largest landowner in the U.S. Stats show agriculture is a pretty good investment for billionaires. Bill Gates owns a ton of farmland in the United Statesas in, about 270,000 acres. Bill Gates was right when he sold his own Microsoft stock to diversify through Cascade in 1994. Farmland, Biden Hears Oval Office Plea for Alaska Oil Project in Lobbying Frenzy, Apple tops ranking of global companies with the most 'green' revenue, UPDATE 2-North Korea says UN should demand end to S.Korea-US military drills, US Treasury puts cost of outbound investment risk program at $10 million, US Jobs Report and Powell Testimony Take Center Stage: Eco Week. The Agriculture Department estimates there are more than 895 million acres of farmland in the U.S., making Gates share 0.028%. It is unclear how cheap biofuels can be but if they are cheap it can solve the aviation and truck emissions." Back in January, US magazine The Land Report revealed that Bill and Melinda Gates have amassed the largest portfolio of private farmland in the US, comprising an estimated 242,000 acres. He owns significantly more farmland than Minnesota's Offutt family and California's Resnick family, which each own 190,000 acres and rank second equal on the list. A Grimmway Farms employee moves a water pipe at one of their carrot farms in the Antelope Valley. More than 58 million birds in hundreds of commercial and backyard flocks have been affected since the bird flu outbreak began in February 2022, the Agriculture Department estimated. By Dec. 31, 2022, the Agriculture Department reported 43 million egg-laying hens had died because of the disease or depopulation. Either that or I had a screw loose. Due climate change, dry seasons will be drier, and wet seasons will be more intense, and bring more flooding. At the turn of this century, Chinese owners owned about 192,000 acres of farmland in the U.S., according to the USDA. Social media post scrambles the facts on high egg prices," Jan. 13, 2023, Various searches on Google and Nexis, accessed Jan. 24, 2023, The Land Report, "Farmer Bill," Jan. 11, 2021, The Land Report, "Bill Gates is About to Change the Way America Farms," Winter 2020 magazine issue, The Land Report 100, Winter 2021 magazine issue, The Land Report 100, Winter 2022 magazine issue, Email exchange, Eric OKeefe, editor, The Land Report, Jan. 23, 2023, Email exchange, Gates Ventures, Jan. 24, 2023, GatesNotes, "Future of food," March 18, 2013, GatesNotes, "What the plow and lab-grown meat tell us about innovation," Feb. 27, 2019, GatesNotes, "Is there enough meat for everyone?," April 21, 2015, GatesNotes, "Why I would raise chickens," June 7, 2016, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Consumer Price Index," Jan. 12, 2023, U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Avian influenza outbreaks reduced egg production, driving prices to record highs in 2022," Jan. 11, 2023, U.S. Department of Agriculture, "2022-2023 Confirmations of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Commercial and Backyard Flocks," Jan. 18, 2023, U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Avian Influenza," Jan. 18, 2023, U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Farms and Land in Farms, 2021 Summary," February 2022, Reddit, Bill Gates Ask Me Anything, March 19, 2021, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "Agricultural Development," accessed Jan. 24, 2023, Associated Press, "Bill Gates owns a lot of American farmland, but not the majority," May 2, 2022, Vox, "The controversy over Bill Gates becoming the largest private farmland owner in the US," June 11, 2021, NBC News, "McDonald's french fries, carrots, onions: all of the foods that come from Bill Gates farmland," June 8, 2021, Reuters, "Fact Check-Bill Gates doesnt own most U.S. farmland; BlackRock doesnt own most houses," May 5, 2022, CNBC, "Bill Gates and Richard Branson are betting lab-grown meat might be the food of the future," March 23, 2018, CNBC, "Bill Gates bets on growing demand for sustainable foods," May 14, 2015, Bloomberg News, "Lab-Grown Meat Backed by Gates, Tyson Foods Faces U.S. Bill Gates buys farmland in Amish Country. Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Drinking or using tap water treated with chlorine is dangerous because chlorine is a poison., Obama imposed stricter rules on trains carrying toxins. NOW WATCH: Bill Gates has a net worth of over $96 billion here's how he makes and spends his money, his close friend and Berkshire Hathaway CEO, Warren Buffett, he'll sell what he owns as money goes towards the foundation. Gates is just using farmland to make Agri-Tech and financial investments. By Rebecca . At about $6,000 per acre, the potato farm cost roughly half of what Gates reportedly spent on highly coveted soil closer to his home in Washington. Investors from the Netherlands own 33% of that land with Canadians owning 25%. As reported by Bloomberg . 41 on The Land Report's 2022 list of Americans who own the most land. Egg prices havent come down with inflation. This isn't the first time Gates has called for higher taxes on the wealthy. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Perhaps history is repeating itself? Age Requirements Most ordinances require, Huckleberries are small bright blue, or dark blue, or black berries which grow wild near marshes in Michigan. Other examples can be seen (here), (here). "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. As per the report, the Gates have their own land in at least 18 American states. We need your help. 420,000 acresBill and Melinda Gates prior to their divorce accumulated roughly 270,000 acres of farmland in less than a decade. Document shows Rebekah Jones demonstrated a violation of Floridas Whistleblower Act. The biggest chunks of Gates' holdings are in Louisiana and Arkansas, where he owns 69,071 acres and 47,927 acres, respectively, the outlet's research found. The timeline of events leading to the shortages, claim multiple Instagram posts, goes like this: "2013: Bill Gates invests (in) plant-based eggs, poultry, and meat", "2021: Bill Gates becomes the largest private farmland owner in the U.S.", "2021-2023: Mass chicken and egg shortages hit American farms", The Gateway Pundit, a conservative website, shared a similar claim. False. Weyerhaeuser purchase Plum Creek in 2015 for over $8 Billion! 309. The old saying about land is they aren't making any more of it. Supply and demand? Are you ready for alternative proteins made from a volcanic microbe?," March 24, 2020, NPR, "Why Bill Gates Is Investing In Chicken-Less Eggs," June 13, 2013, CNN, "Memphis Meats raised $161 million to grow meat from cells," Jan. 22, 2020, Insider, "Bill Gates and Richard Branson backed a food startup which grows meat in labs," Aug. 23, 2017, CNBC, "How Beyond Meat became a $550 million brand, winning over meat-eaters with a vegan burger that bleeds'," Jan. 21, 2019, Quartz, "Bill Gates headlines an all-star list of investors pumping $75 million into meatless burgers," Aug. 2, 2017, CNBC, "How Impossible Burgers simple vision won hundreds of millions in funding and backing from Bill Gates," March 7, 2019, The Washington Post, "Egg prices havent come down with inflation. Bill Gates does not own the majority of U.S. farmland. In the past 20 years, the foundation has grown to hold over $48 billion. In April 2022, conspiracy theorists insinuated that billionaire Bill Gates was buying up "the majority" of American farmland as part of a diabolical plot to cause widespread food shortages. Follow him on Twitter@LucasNolanor contact via secure email at the addresslucasnolan@protonmail.com, EconomyPoliticsTechBill GatesFarmersfarmlandNorth Dakota. ", Gates responded at the time, "My investment team bought the farmland. Agfundernews.com, a website about agricultural investments, reported in 2021 that Gates' investments were part of a broader trend that started after the financial crisis of 2008, as investors looked for reliable returns. Gates, currently the sixth-richest person in the world, has a net worth of $111 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. By Jenna Hoffman July 5, 2022. Gates' interest in farmland is still strong. 33701 If youve been on the fence about getting into farmland, maybe now is the time to reconsider. Plum Creek, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, is the largest private landowner in Michigan after purchasing 650,000 acres in 2005. State law prohibits corporations, LLCs, and trusts from farming or ranching activities. It's hard to visualize just how much land 242,000 acres amounts to unless . Some are near cities and might end up having other uses.". Why Bill Gates Keeps Buying Up So Much Farmland, 60 Scientists Are Trying to Block the Sun, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Here in Michigan, roughly 1.35 million acres of ag land is held by foreign investors and nearly 90% of this land is in forests. Hint, It's Not Bill Gates. 242,000 Acres: Bill Gates Now The Largest Owner Of Farmland In America. researchers warned about the potential risk of a global food shortage, currently no nationwide food shortages in the United States, the number of fires was not extraordinary, the causes of the fires were not unusual, and the damage caused by the fires was minimal, 2021 report from the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Agriculture Statistics Service, you'd cover an area about a quarter the size of Rhode Island, Gates was putting microchips into vaccines, Gates had input tracking devices into vaccines, vaccinations as a way to depopulate the planet. Billionaire Bill Gates explains why he buys a lot agricultural land - Photo: BENZINGA. Wonderful Company cofounders Stewart and Lynda Resnick (net worth: $7.1 billion) ranked number three . Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. 2023 Benzinga.com. According to 2021 article from the Land Report, a magazine about land. Is Farmland Partners (FPI) A Good Investment? It is not connected to climate. Thats because the old adage goes: Buy landthey arent making it anymore. (Which volcanologists know isnt exactly true, but you get the idea). Of those states, Gates owns the most land in Louisiana, where he is proprietor of more than 69,000 acres.