Bill Gates' land area in the United States is equivalent to two new york
Bill Gates' land area in the United States is equivalent to two new york. In the past ten years, Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda have purchased more than 242, acres (1,88.6 square kilometers) of farmland in 19 States in the United States, and Bill Gates' land area in the United States is equivalent to two new york. Bill Gates' land area in the United States is equivalent to two new york 1
"The area is almost as big as the whole of Hong Kong, and it is worth three Berlin."
The Associated Press reported that Microsoft founder Bill Gates had just obtained legal approval, allowing him to buy 2,1 acres of farmland in North Dakota worth $13.5 million. Previously, Bill Gates' purchase of farmland once caused dissatisfaction among local residents and led to the intervention of the state's top prosecutor.
Actually, this is not the first time Gates has invested in buying land in the United States. He has bought nearly 269, acres, equivalent to 1.63 million mu, in more than a dozen states in the United States, accounting for almost 1% of the agricultural land in the United States, and is already the largest private owner of agricultural land in the United States. Under the background of high global inflation and stock market fluctuation, there are more and more "landlords" in Europe and America who buy farmland.
equivalent to "one Hong Kong" and "three Berlin"
Yahoo Finance reported on the 6th that it had just purchased 2,1 acres of fertile land from North Dakota, which made Gates' land territory expand again. According to the data released by the Top 1 Land Reports in 221, the farmland purchased by Gates in the past few years has spread over more than a dozen states, including 242, acres of farmland, 1,234 acres of leisure land and 25,75 acres of other land, and it is transitioning from farmland to residential and commercial use.
The acquisition of North Dakota will make its total land holdings exceed 27, acres, which is almost the size of the whole of Hong Kong and equivalent to three Berlin.
The area of land held by Bill Gates in American states
It is reported that the farmland purchased by Gates includes Louisiana (69, acres), Arkansas (48, acres), Nebraska (more than 2, acres), Arizona (more than 25, acres), Mississippi, Indiana, Washington and Florida in the south. The National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) reported that these lands in nearly 2 states include farmland where vegetables such as carrots, soybeans and potatoes are grown, and some of them eventually become McDonald's French fries.
American media reported that although Gates is the largest private owner of farmland in the United States, he is not the largest landowner in the United States. The biggest landowner in the United States is another man-billionaire john marlon, known as the "godfather of American cable TV", who owns 2.2 million acres of land in the United States.
In addition, Jeff Bezos, a well-known Amazon e-commerce giant, also owns 42, acres of land, including a large number of forests and uncultivated land. Ted turner, an American media magnate, and Thomas Peterffy, an American businessman who ranks 65th on the Forbes Global Rich List in 221 with a wealth of $25 billion, are among the top landowners in the United States. It can be seen that the big landlords are all super-rich.
Bill Gates data map
Rich people in Europe also love to buy land
In European countries, there are more and more "landlords" who buy farmland. Posier is the head of a furniture company in Lower Saxony, Germany. He told the Global Times reporter that his family buys 1 to 2 hectares (1 hectare equals 15 acres) of land in the surrounding areas every year for investment, in addition to agricultural land and forests. The wood of the forest is used for his enterprise, while the farmland is rented to local farmers.
bossier told the global times that 2 years ago, they bought less than 1, euros per hectare, 1 years later, the price reached 15, euros, and now it has exceeded 3, euros. This price is relatively low in the agricultural state of Lower Saxony.
He told reporters that the land bought by his family has never been sold, and it has been passed down from generation to generation. According to the regulations in various parts of Germany, if you buy land to build factories, apartment buildings, etc., the approval will be stricter. When Bosier signs a lease contract with local farmers, he will explain in detail the use of the land and matters needing attention.
"In the last two years, Germany has bought geothermal energy." Rudiger, a land and real estate investment consultant in Berlin, told the Global Times that American billionaires invest in agricultural land to protect themselves from inflation.
private non-agricultural buyers have relatively easy access to farmland and forests in the United States. In Germany, however, investors' purchase of agricultural land is subject to stricter supervision. The authorities hope to prevent farmland from becoming the object of speculation, and less than 1% of farmland is traded every year.
But now the German government has relaxed the sale of land, for example, it is stipulated that solar parks can be built to generate electricity when buying agricultural land. Some cities have more than a dozen solar park projects. Of course, more people buy land to build farms or rent it. However, there are also doubts that the rich are suspected of obtaining high agricultural subsidies by buying land. But Rudiger said that if buyers don't produce, it is difficult to get subsidies in the EU.
According to the German magazine Agriculture Today, not only the farmland prices in Germany have risen sharply, but also in most countries in the European Union. For example, in the Netherlands, the most expensive farmland in 22, the price per hectare is close to 7, euros. In the past 1 years, Dutch land prices have risen by nearly 4%. In Romania, another country, the land price has more than quintupled in the past 1 years, reaching 7163 euros per hectare in 22, and the price even exceeds that of France, a powerful agricultural country.
"One of the oldest and best long-term investments"
"High return, low risk", German Economic News Network summed up the trend of rich people buying land for investment. Warren Buffett, an investment legend, once said that buying farmland in many places is "one of the oldest and best long-term investments".
Generally speaking, farmland has always been a profitable investment, and the return on investment in farmland is better than most other investments, even comparable to that of stocks. According to Forbes, in the past 29 years (1992-22), the return on investment in agricultural land in the United States was higher than most assets.
According to statistics, since 1972, the annualized rate of return of farmland in the United States is about 1%, while that of real estate in the United States is only 9%. The American stock market (Standard & Poor's 5 Index) and gold have only increased by about 7% every year. Especially with the recent skyrocketing food prices, agricultural land investment has more potential. Rudiger believes that from the perspective of monopoly's investment, buying land is also a blue chip stock, which needs long-term investment.
according to the data of USDA, there are more than 37 million hectares of farmland in the United States, of which 2/3 are owned by farmers and 1/3 by big investors. The data also shows that 39% of the landowners do not farm their own land, but rent it to farmers. 8% of these landlords who don't farm land are investors. Obviously, the cash flow brought by rent is a direct and considerable income from many investments in agricultural land.
Secondly, as agricultural land, crop income is also one of the main returns, especially for farmers who really cultivate land. Some people buy farmland as a relatively stable value-added investment, and at the same time use it as a place for vacation and leisure. Some people will also turn the farm into a place to celebrate weddings, birthdays and other celebrations.
Although there is no vast farmland in the midwest on the east coast of the United States where Global Times reporters in the United States are located, farms can be seen everywhere in the suburbs. Many farms mainly plant fruit trees, and the larger farms have a picking festival every year. In addition to picking fruits, pumpkins everywhere are also available for people to pick before Halloween.
It is worth mentioning that these farms often have a grocery store selling their own products, and some are almost a large food supermarket. Such farm grocery stores are very popular with local people and even become a landmark place in the community.
American farmland has always been a good investment variety, but the upfront cost of purchasing farmland is very high, which is not suitable for ordinary investors with small funds. In recent years, the rise of American farmland real estate investment trust funds and various crowdfunding platforms has greatly lowered the investment threshold of this asset class.
Chris Raleigh, CEO of Harvest Returns, said that for ordinary investors, buying a farm requires a huge amount of money, but if a large number of investors are gathered together, they can concentrate on buying farmland, woodland or greenhouse vertical farms. "That's what we do." According to foreign media reports, in the past ten years, Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda have purchased more than 242, acres (1.88.6 square kilometers) of farmland and 27, acres of recreational land and transitional land in 19 States of the United States, with a total area of nearly 27, acres (about 1.63 million acres), equivalent to two new york. At this point, Bill Gates became the largest private farmland owner in the United States.
McDonald's potatoes also come from Gates' farm, and more than 14, acres of farmland are planted with huge potatoes.
According to the real-time data of Forbes Rich List, Bill Gates' personal wealth is currently US$ 129.3 billion, ranking fourth in the world, second only to Bezos, Musk and LV head Arnot.
How much does it cost to buy a farm in America?
according to the U.S. department of agriculture, the average price of agricultural land in the United States is $4,1 per acre. If you buy 1 acres of land, it will cost about 27 million yuan.
According to rough statistics, Bill Gates' 269, acres of farmland cost about 7.5 billion yuan.
of course, there are great differences in land value in different regions.
The land in the central part of the United States (Texas and Colorado) is relatively cheap, and about 1 acres of land need to pay about 1 to 2 million yuan, while in California, where land is the most expensive, it may take 12 million yuan to get the same area of land.
in the United States, buying land and buying a farm are two concepts. The land is just a clearing, and there may be no buildings or crops on it. However, most farms in the United States are in a mature state of operation, generally priced in acres, ranging from thousands of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, farm facilities are very important, and whether there is a greenhouse or not will make a big difference.
Bill Gates' private investment company buys farmland through 22 shell companies
Bill Gates has the largest farmland in LOUISIANA, with 69,71 acres, followed by ARKANSAS, with 47,927 acres; And MEBRASKA, 2,588 acres.
Gates' Cascade Investment Company purchased and held a full 269, acres of farmland directly or through a third party.
In addition, Cascade Investment Company has invested in food safety companies, retailers, used car dealers and Canadian National Railways.
In fact, this is not the first time Gates has set foot in agriculture.
As early as 28, Bill Gates and the Melinda Gates Foundation announced that they would allocate 36 million dollars to promote high-yield and sustainable agriculture among small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Bill Gates is not the only rich man who has entered the agricultural field. Although Gates is the largest farmland owner in the United States, he is by no means the largest individual landowner.
In the Land Report's list of the top 1 American landlords, Bill Gates and his wife only ranked 49th.
World food prices hit an eight-year high. Bill Gates predicted this?
Land resources are always limited, but the global population is increasing. At present, the global population has reached about 7.8 billion, and it is growing at a faster rate every year.
according to the data of the United nations, the world population is expected to increase by more than 1 billion in the next 15 years, reaching 8.5 billion in 23, and then the population will continue to grow, reaching 9.7 billion in 25 and 11.2 billion in 21. Bill Gates' land in the United States is equivalent to two new york 3
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently bought 2,1 acres of farmland in North Dakota, which caused dissatisfaction among local residents and led to the intervention of the state's top prosecutor.
north Dakota attorney general drew wrigley wrote a letter to the Red River Trust, which is related to gates, this week, asking the company how they intend to use the land and whether they meet the exception of the state's corporate agriculture law.
He wrote in the letter: "All companies or limited liability companies are forbidden to own or lease farmland or pasture, and they are also forbidden to engage in agriculture or pasture management."
"In addition, the law restricts the trust company's ability to own farmland or pasture."
Honghe Trust Company has 3 days to respond to this letter on June 21st.
the response of local residents to the acquisition of Honghe is not positive. Doug Goehring, North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner, said: "I have heard a lot of opinions about this matter from all over the state." Goering said that it is not illegal to sell land to billionaires, but people feel that they have been exploited by the super-rich, who buy land in North Dakota, but do not agree with the state's values.
It is reported that the company associated with Gates bought nearly 2,1 acres of farmland in northern red river valley from the owner of Campbell Farms, a potato growing group in North Dakota.
the value of this transaction is nearly $13.5 million. Most of this land is not irrigated.
Gates is the largest private farmer in the United States, with 242, acres of farmland in 19 states. However, he is not "the largest landlord in the United States" as some domestic media have said.
The title of "America's largest landlord" belongs to media tycoon John Malone, who owns more than 2 million acres of forest land in the United States, nearly 1 times the land area of Gates alone.