American Billionaires Snap Up $4.3 Trillion Farmland Market as Prices Threaten Working Farmers
Updated
Updated · Fortune · Aug 23
American Billionaires Snap Up $4.3 Trillion Farmland Market as Prices Threaten Working Farmers
2 articles · Updated · Fortune · Aug 23
Summary
$4.3 trillion U.S. farmland is drawing billionaire buyers, with agriculture advocates warning the surge is making it harder for working farmers—especially beginners—to buy land.
4.3% average annual land-price growth lifted U.S. farm values to about $4,350 an acre last year, as wealthy investors used farmland to hedge inflation, diversify portfolios and, increasingly, for lifestyle use.
275,000 acres owned by Bill Gates, 462,000 by Jeff Bezos and 2.7 million by Stan Kroenke show the scale of elite land accumulation, far beyond hobby farms highlighted by Mark Zuckerberg and Alexis Ohanian.
Nearly 40% of U.S. farmland is now leased, which can help farmers get started but leaves many without long-term control to improve soil, build infrastructure or use land as collateral for loans, education or retirement.