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With more than 2.4 million acres under its purview, the Emmerson Family has held on to its spot as the largest private landowner in the U.S. this year.
Families with timberland empires and colossal ranches comprise the top 10 holders of property across the country, according to The Land Report’s 2025 ranking.
The Emmerson Family’s millions of acres of timberland spread across California, Oregon and Washington. The family, whose forest-products company Sierra Pacific Industries was founded by Red Emmerson, snagged the top spot on The Land Report’s annual list in 2021, with the purchase of 175,000 acres from Oregon-based Seneca Jones Timber Company and Seneca Sawmills.
The second-largest landowner in the U.S. was John Malone, with 2.2 million acres across Wyoming, New Mexico, Florida and Colorado that is used for conservation and sustainability efforts. The billionaire media magnate had ranked No. 1 on The Land Report’s ranking for a decade, until Emmerson overtook him.
Microsoft co-founder BIll Gates placed 43rd on the Land Report’s 2025 ranking — this was his fifth straight year making the list — but Gates ranks as the largest private owner of farmland in the country. Through his investment firm Cascade Investment LLC, Gates owns some 250,000 acres of farmland over 17 states, including Louisiana, Arkansas and Nebraska. The firm began acquiring the land as a long-term, stable asset that also diversifies Gates’ otherwise tech-focused portfolio, according to The Land Report.
Meanwhile, New York real estate mogul Stefan Soloviev, chairman of the Soloviev Group, placed among the top 20 of private landowners this year, ranking 15th with 617,000 acres of land in his holdings. He first made the cut 12 years ago, ranking 82nd on the list with 125,000 acres of farms in Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. Soloviev broke into the top 20 last year.