Who is America’s Largest Landowner?

February 7, 2024 - Who is America’s largest landowner? According to their website, this question is the quest of the Land Report 100 Research Team all year long. 

Drum roll, please…

The ones have been carried and the math has been double-checked. In 2024, America’s largest Landowner is Red Emmerson.

From LandReport.com, “Red and his family own 2,411,000 acres in California, Oregon, and Washington through their timber-products company, Sierra Pacific Industries. The Emmersons became America’s largest landowners in 2021 when they acquired 175,000 acres in Oregon from Seneca Timber Company. With that acquisition, the Emmersons surpassed Liberty Media chairman John Malone’s 2,200,000 acres. CNN founder Ted Turner is America’s third largest landowner with 2 million acres in the Southeast, on the Great Plains, and across the West.”

As to how this statistic is determined, the Land Report 100 Research Team reportedly analyzes transactions and scours records to determine America’s leading landowners. They were the group who, in 2020, broke the news that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was America’s largest farmland owner with more than 260,000 acres.

Comb through the list of the “Top 100” for 2024 and you’ll find the King Ranch Heirs, Jeff Bezos, Taylor Sheridan, and the Coffee Family of Miles City, Montana. Head to LandReport.com for the full list.