How many acres do you own?
Posted By RichC on October 26, 2012
Read an artcle about Brad Kelley in the WSJ about owning a million acres … which started me wondering just how many acres some individual acquire — a lot.
#4 Brad Kelley. Owns: 1.7 million acres in Texas, New Mexico and Florida. This Nashville, Tenn., farmer’s son sold his Commonwealth Brands cigarette company for $1 billion in 2001 and began investing in land. Big time. The Land Report estimates the tightlipped Kelley owns 1.7 million acres. Most recently he’s reported to have bulked up his holdings with ranchland in the Big Bend region of Texas.
#3 Archie “Red” Emmerson. Owns: 1.87 million acres in California and Washington. #3 Archie “Red” EmmersonIn 1949 Emmerson and his father, Curly, leased a sawmill and built the business into Sierra Pacific Industries. Red borrowed $460 million to buy 522,000 acres in California, a position since increased to almost 2 million acres.
#2 Ted Turner. Owns: 2 million acres in New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Florida and several other states. An ardent conservationist, Turner began buying ranches in the 1970s and revived the nation’s bison herd to 55,000 head on his ranches across the upper Great Plains. No regrets about losing the title as the nation’s No. 1 land baron to John Malone: “I consider John a good friend and have great respect for him,” Turner said.
#1 John Malone. Owns: 2.2 million acres in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Maine and New Hampshire. The cable-television billionaire was outed as one of the nation’s largest property owners by The Land Report two years ago and dramatically increased his holdings last year with the purchase of New Mexico’s 453-square-mile Bell Ranch. Now he passes longtime No. 1 Ted Turner with the purchase of 1 million acres of timberland in New Hampshire and Maine from an investment firm.
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