When it comes to the world of technology, the name Bill Gates is one of the first to come to mind. But instead of choosing a technology company, the Microsoft founder invested in farmland.
As Yahoo News reports, Gates obtained a legal agreement that allowed him to purchase 2,100 acres of farmland in North Dakota for $13.5 million. This caused discontent among the local population.
As a result, it led to the intervention of the state's top attorney. US Attorney General Drew Wrigley wrote to Gates.
"Our office needs to confirm how your company uses this land and whether this use meets any of the criteria. Any exceptions required by law, such as business purpose exceptions," Wrigley wrote, according to Gizchina.
Bill Gates has successfully purchased nearly 269,000 acres of land in more than 12 US states. They account for nearly 1% of agricultural land in the United States.
This figure is still far from the largest private farm owner in the United States who owns 494,000 hectares of land. The second position is Ted Turner who owns 424,000 hectares.
According to data released by Land Report 100 in 2021, the land purchased by Bill Gates includes 242,000 hectares of farmland, 1,234 hectares of recreational land, and 25,750 hectares of transition from agricultural land to residential and commercial use. The acquisition of North Dakota will bring its total land holdings to more than 270,000 acres. This is the size of Hong Kong or three times Berlin.
It is understandable the concern of the farmers. Bill Gates owns so much land and no one knows how he will use it.
The father of three finally answered in an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit about how to use agricultural land. Bill Gates said: "My investment team is buying farmland. This is less than 0.1% of all US farmland because holdings are so diverse. We invest in livestock to increase productivity. Some are near cities and may have other uses."
