Bill Gates Farmland: Why Is the Billionaire Buying So Much? Invest like Bill Gates with the Best North Dakota Farmland The soil profile and underlying silty loess are in a league of their own. It wasnt long before subreddit chains and conservative voices began inquiring whether Gates, 66, had any ties to the Chinese investment near Grand Forks. Now, Bill Gates adds being the largest, private owner of American farmland to his career achievements. Cows may be given miracle vaccines to help them produce higher quality milk and meat. A $13.5 million purchase of a North Dakota potato farm is drawing outrage and legal scrutiny. With proper techniques, the carbon from decaying plant matter can be kept safely in the soil, rather than entering the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. Youre not investing in a building that will decay over time, but the rich farmland itself. This is part of APs effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Gates is a renowned software developer, international philanthropist, noted business magnate, and investor. But some of the software pioneers investments do reveal his grander goals. By using this website, you accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. As Slate financial writer Henry Grabar concluded, the proposed town of Belmont is not a city, nor is it smart, nor does the Microsoft founder appear to be involved in any meaningful way.. And it tends to be negatively correlated against other investments, he adds: If the stock market is going down, the return on farmland is likely to be going up. In January 2020, The Land Report announced the launch of a sustainability standard that was developed by U.S. farmland owners and operators. There are more than 85 million single-family homes in the country, and only around 15 million of those are rentals, according to the latest American Housing Survey by the Census Bureau. Check out current deals on AcreTrader now! And thats where the land purchases come in. Gates' achievement, according to the report, is that he's largest private owner of farmland in the US. None of the information contained on this website is a recommendation to invest in any securities. Angelo Merendino for The New York Times. Meanwhile, American agriculture today is being transformed as farmers employ new technologies and Big Data to help them manage their crops. This private U.S. farmland REIT was a joint venture between Duquesne Capital Management and Goldman Sachs that launched in 2007. The burgeoning metropolis of Monterey, population 462, rang a bell, but despite my best efforts, I couldnt connect the dots to anyone whom we had profiled in The Land Report or, for that matter, anyone who was on our watch list. However, the development and implementation of new technologies to withdraw fossil fuels hidden deep in the earth are currently financially impractical. 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. While the global climate change initiative is trying to reduce total emissions by the year 2050, the year 2030 is also important. Strike three, right? 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. By clicking Sign Up, you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew; and you accept Insiders. Cascade Investment doubled down on Phoenix transitional land two years later when it made a second major investment by acquiring more than 2,800 acres known as Spurlock Ranch in Buckeye for $25 million. And it did this so quietly one might even say it was done in secret. One main benefit to alt assets especially for those whore heavily invested in the stock market is you can diversify your overall investment portfolio outside the NYSE/NASDAQ. Bill Gates' 20,000 acres in Nebraska help make him the top farmland APS ASSESSMENT: False. Investing in farmland is not as volatile as investing in traditional stocks. AcreTrader has carved out a niche for themselves that has led to rapid market dominance. Gates is considered the largest individual private owner of farmland in the country with more than 280,000 acres across dozens of states, according to last years edition of the Land Report 100, an annual survey of the nations largest landowners. Oct. 8, 2021. While private companies and corporations are increasing. Larson sees to it that Gates wealth is sensibly, even conservatively, invested. The $68.5 million that Kroenke Ranches paid was applied to Ebberss IOU. The new green economy will mean new opportunities for land owners, OKeefe believes. Bill and Melinda Gates, who recently announced they're getting divorced and are dividing their assets, are deeply invested in American agriculture. The current best estimate is that the modern world will run out of fossil fuels, and the ability to fuel its global fossil-fuel run infrastructure, by the year 2067. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File ), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. All investments involve risk and may result in loss. One of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies is the 1999 mystery/thriller True Crime. Biofuels are renewable fuel sources that are created from the biomass of animals and plants. And for those wondering why exactly Gates has taken a keen interest in investing in farmland across the country, look no farther than the profit margins. One main benefit to alt assets especially for those whore heavily invested in the stock market is, another scenario where more traditional assets like stocks and, Also, because youre investing in the land itself, your investment not only is quite resistant to depreciation, but also provides some, Theres a lot of little benefits that stack up when talking about farmland, but the biggest is likely the fact that, American farmland produces a lot of exports, exposing you to political risks, Its a little harder to break into farmland than other assets, though this is changing, In the same way you can invest into ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) in the stock market, there exist similar products for farmland called, Bill and Melinda released their latest initiative, , While the global climate change initiative is trying to reduce total emissions by the year 2050, the year 2030 is also important. What is certain is that Gates won't be the last private citizen to do so. Well, as with everything in life, there is always a trade-off especially in finance. by Harvard Universitys Joint Center for Housing Studies. Larson also makes sure Gates keeps his eggs in a wide variety of baskets. He is also the fourth richest man on planet Earth with a net worth of $125 billion. It is unclear how cheap biofuels can be but if they are cheap it can solve the aviation and truck emissions.. People are going to pay attention to what Bill is doing, Sherrick says. Bill Gates is well-known for building Microsoft, but it's a lesser-known fact that he's also the biggest private landowner in the US. Investment guru Michael Larson, who has worked with Gates since 1994, runs the Washington-based Cascade Investment, as well as supervising the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations nearly $50 billion endowment. for different crops that have been gene edited to be pest-proof, flood proof, disease proof, and climate change-resistant. Yet farmland assets arent the sole component of the Gateses landholdings. Gates, the billionaire tech mogul and philanthropist whose net worth was pegged by Bloomberg at $113 billion, has quietly amassed nearly 270,000 acres of farmland across the country, according. The endowment that funds the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is independently managed by a separate entity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, a spokesperson for Cascade Investment told The Post. In the same way you can invest into ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) in the stock market, there exist similar products for farmland called farmland REITs. Gates is considered the largest private owner of farmland in the country with some 269,000 acres (108,860 hectares) across dozens of states, according to last year's edition of the Land. At buildout, the Belmont development will create a brand-new metropolis, one similar in size to the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, home to Arizona State University and almost 200,000 residents. Gates owns 17,940 acres in Illinois, the report also states. Bill Gates' $13.5 million investment in 2,100 sprawling acres of North Dakota land has raised questions as the purchase coincided with a controversial Chinese company buying 370 acres of. The old saying about land is they aren't making any more of it. Supply and demand? Does this investment say anything about the state of the. , said his investment group was behind the purchases, and suggested it was linked to seed and biofuel development. The buyer, Red River Trust, is tied to Bill Gates . When Ted Turner bought his Flying D Ranch in Montana in 1989, that was his personal passion, OKeefe says. However, these are just estimations. The tech mogul, who is. Interestingly enough, though the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is working on this agriculture initiative. About 97% of American farms are small and medium-sized family-owned operations. Gates personal farmland portfolio is managed by Michael Larson and Cascade Investment. There is absolutely no connection between the Gate[s] North Dakota farmland investments and the Fufeng Group, a spokesperson for Cascade Investment, which oversees the investments of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust and Bill Gates, told The Post. Cell ag experts weigh in, Vertical farming should be one instrument in a farmers toolbox, not the whole operation or the farmers competition, Technology is a means, not an end in farming: Key takeaways from Indoor Ag-Con 2023, Digitizing the supply chain drove investment increase in African agrifoodtech in 2022, It will be a year of bust-ups, roll-ups and M&A: VC predictions for agrifoodtech investment, Smoke & mirrors, not worth the extra cost: 50 US farmers speak out on carbon markets, Food & ag corporates prefer to engage with academia, research over startups, according to open innovation report. Some of it goes to surrounding states, across the border, or it ends up someplace else. So, if farmers do not improve farming methods, local communities suffer. Bill and Melinda Gates, who recently announced they're getting divorced and are dividing their assets, are deeply invested in American agriculture. The billionaire couple, in less than a. The Land Report tracks numerous Louisiana landowners; Angelina Agriculture is not one of them. Theories began spreading that a future food shortage could lead to a collaboration between China and Gates to invest in American farming land and take control of the countrys food supply. This is a sponsored promotion for the AcreTrader platform. But the purchaser of record was a small, obscure company in Louisiana. Not surprisingly, one of Leading Harvests other inaugural members is a Cascade entity called Cottonwood Ag Management. Lets call that strike one. Gates responded: "I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US. Farms also have a role in fighting climate change. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Bill and Melinda Gates gush over new grandbaby in separate photos, Bill Gates says AI-powered ChatGPT as important as PC, internet, mobile phones, BillGatesbuys nearly $1B Heineken stake despite not being a big beer drinker, Bill Gates daughter living in $51M NYC home as she welcomes first baby, Gates longstanding interest in climate change. FARGO, N.D. (AP) North Dakota's attorney general has found the sale of a couple thousand acres of prime farmland to a group tied to Bill Gates complies with a Depression-era law meant to . Currently, no one knows. Farmland REITs have a high degree of correlation with the overall stock market, and returns tend to be lower than less liquid farmland investments. Biogas is a natural gas alternative that can be sourced from animal manure or algae., Future biofuel advancements could make farming more self-sustaining, environmentally friendly and more efficient.. The Microsoft co-founder is considered the largest private owner of farmland in the country with some 269,000 acres across dozens of states, according to last years edition of the Land Report 100, an annual survey of the nations largest landowners. Meanwhile, Chinese owners currently control more than 192,000 agricultural acres in the US, worth $1.9 billion, including land used for farming, ranching and forestry, the Agriculture Department told Politico last year. Sales of more than a thousand acres are blue-moon events, OKeefe noted, so this one stood out. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Due climate change, dry seasons will be drier, and wet seasons will be more intense, and bring more flooding. Futures: at least 10 minute delayed. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. Most likely, it is just one more asset in Gates vast portfolio, quietly appreciating in value while the billionaire himself remains at arms length. In addition, over 250,000 farms are so-called factory farms owned, rented, or co-opted by corporations. Gates, in an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit last year, said his investment group was behind the purchases, and suggested it was linked to seed and biofuel development. (According to The Land Report, Gates owns about 27,000 acres of non-agricultural land, in addition to his farm holdings.). Ebbers subsequently pledged Douglas Lake as collateral for $400 million he ended up borrowing from WorldCom, and in 2003, WorldCom sold Douglas Lake to Kroenke Ranches. In addition to farmland, the Gates' portfolio includes numerous public investments, the Gates Foundation, a major stake in the Four Seasons Hotel, and much more. I dont think the poorest [] countries will be eating synthetic meat. Bill and Melinda released their latest initiative, Bill Gates Big Bet, where the Foundation states theyre betting on the major success of developing nations within the next 15 years, hoping to see more improvement than at any time in history. The Best North Dakota Farmland to Invest in There are specific regions within North Dakota that are better suited for growing certain commodities. What Returns Should You Expect From Farmland Investing? 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Much like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation uses science and technology to achieve a number of worthy goals including transitioning millions of people out of poverty, improving peoples health and well-being, and ensuring that all people have access to opportunities necessary to succeed in school and in life Cascades farmland holdings also aim to further laudable objectives. His magazine, The Land Report, tracks major land transactions and produces an annual list of the 100 biggest US landowners. The landowners can include investors like Gates. And the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently launched a new division known as Gates Ag One. Our exposure to Invitation Homes is owning its stock in mutual funds we manage, not buying houses w/ them,. 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. And why is Bill Gates the largest private owner of farmland in the United States? This is part of APs effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. By divesting his personal wealth from his own thriving tech company, and diversifying into myriads of other non-tech based businesses, he was not only exceptionally protected against the tech crash of 2000, but made out like a bandit. Turns out that very same property had caught my eye way back when The Land Report was preparing to launch in 2006. U.S. Census Bureau data shows fewer than 20% of such properties are rentals, and the vast majority of those are owned by individual investors, not institutional investors like BlackRock. of the richest people in the country, owns less than one percent of the nations total farmland. Many people wonder why Bill Gates would make these moves with his investment portfolio. And the average size of a farm is about 444 acres., The typical family-owned farm makes about $69,000 in profits annually., However, due to climate change, international political tensions, tariff wars and changing consumer diets, family-run farms have struggled to profit. Social media users are falsely claiming that Gates owns the majority of U.S. farmland. Why Is Bill Gates Buying Farmland? You'll be Surprised The company also took to Twitter to reject the false narrative. The 2,100 acre potato farm adds to his massive portfolio of farm investments. That immediately set off alarm bells, OKeefe says. The groups founding members are expected to spearhead the rollout of the new standards on their own lands. Which in turn means less impact on the environment. Late last year, Eric OKeefe was researching a mysterious recent purchase of 14,500 acres of prime Washington state farmland. Bill Gates Defends Farmland Purchases: 'There Isn't Some Grand Scheme' Bill Gates-Tied $13M Farmland Purchase Angers North Dakotans 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. In the past 20 years, the foundation has grown to hold over $48 billion. I scanned the headline for the umpteenth time and then read and reread the pertinent details. Deals are highly vetted with around a 1% acceptance rate, You pick and choose what specific farms you want to invest in, Investors do not have access to a secondary market yet, so you should be familiar with the time horizon. Gates is in 49th spot but rising. The investments from both parties had locals raise their concerns to North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring on a July 6 in a town meeting. Gates is a renowned software developer, international philanthropist, noted business magnate, and investor. 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