Billionaires Buying Farmland in California: Who Owns What

Billionaires buying farmland is real, but in California it is a small part of the market. Bill Gates holds about 275,000 acres across the US, and Stewart and Lynda Resnick hold about 196,775 acres (Land Report 100, 2026), whose company The Wonderful Company farms in California. Investors backed by Silicon Valley money bought tens of thousands of acres of grazing land in Solano County. Yet foreign owners of every size held just 3.8% of the state’s private farm and forest land at the end of 2023 (USDA FSA), and irrigated cropland in California averaged $21,500 an acre in 2026 (USDA NASS).

This guide shows who the big buyers are, what the official numbers say, and what it means for family farms that rent or buy land. It has four charts built from USDA data and a calculator that compares owning an acre with renting it. One claim you may have read, that wealthy buyers are “stockpiling food”, is not supported by any public data we could find; we explain why below.

Billionaires buying farmland in California: the short answer

Large private buyers do own big blocks of California land. The best-known cases are a farming company, a tech-backed land group, and a few national landowners with farms in the state. But the share of California farmland owned by any one of them is small. California has close to 35 million acres of privately held agricultural land, counting farm, ranch and forest land (USDA FSA, 2023).

• Biggest farm operator among the very rich: the Resnick family, through The Wonderful Company, which grows pistachios, almonds and citrus.
• Biggest recent land deal: Flannery Associates, now California Forever, which bought pasture in eastern Solano County.
• Best-known farmland owner: Bill Gates, whom the Land Report named the largest US farmland owner in 2020; his holdings are spread over many states.
• Foreign owners: 1.34 million acres in California, about 60% of it cropland and pasture.

The rest of the land is owned by families, retired farmers, trusts and companies of many sizes. Across the US, just over 60% of land in farms is owner-operated, according to the USDA Economic Research Service summary of the 2022 Census.

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Who are the big buyers?

The Land Report, a magazine that tracks large US landowners, publishes a yearly list of the 100 largest. Its 2026 list gives these figures. They are estimates made by the magazine from deeds and deals, not official records.

The Emmerson figure is mostly forest, not crop land. It shows that “largest landowner” lists mix timber, ranches and farms. When you read a headline about a rich person buying land, check which kind of land it is.

The Resnicks and The Wonderful Company

Stewart Resnick bought his first 1,000 acres of Kern County farmland in 1979, when he acquired Paramount Citrus. The family then moved into pistachios, almonds, mandarins and pomegranates. The Land Report says Wonderful accounts for 60% of pistachios sold in the US. Here the buyer is also the farmer: the land grows crops for sale, and the company runs packing and marketing too.

Bill Gates

The Land Report 100 first reported in 2020 that Bill Gates was America’s largest farmland owner, with more than 260,000 acres. Its 2026 estimate is 275,000 acres. The list does not give a California total, so be careful with claims that he owns a large share of the state.

California Forever in Solano County

From about 2018, a company called Flannery Associates bought land in eastern Solano County through quiet deals. In 2023 it said it planned a new city there. Its backers, as reported by The New York Times and summed up on Wikipedia’s California Forever page, include Michael Moritz, Reid Hoffman, Marc Andreessen, Laurene Powell Jobs and Patrick and John Collison. Reports put the spend at an estimated $900 million for more than 50,000 acres.

The company now says on its own website that it has bought nearly 70,000 acres in the county. The land is zoned for farming, and county growth rules mean a change has needed a vote of county residents. The company withdrew its ballot measure in July 2024 and agreed to an environmental review first. Since 2025, Suisun City and Rio Vista have looked at annexing some of the land, which could avoid a county-wide vote. Some local ranchers said the purchases ended long-standing grazing leases. This is the clearest California case where very rich investors bought farmland to change its use, not to grow more food.

Chart

Foreign-held land in California by use

Acres, as of 31 December 2023

What the official numbers show

No US agency counts land owned by billionaires. Deeds name a company or trust, not the person behind it. So the best public evidence comes from three USDA sources: land values, foreign ownership and tenure surveys.

Land values

California farm real estate, which means land plus buildings, averaged $14,100 an acre in 2026. That is more than three times the US average of $4,500, according to the USDA NASS Land Values 2026 Summary, released 31 July 2026. California values rose 2.9% from 2025, a little less than the 3.4% rise for the whole country.

These are survey averages of what land is worth, not sale prices. A single orchard with good water can sell for much more, and dry grazing land for much less.

Irrigated cropland is the land most buyers want. Its average value climbed from $19,000 an acre in 2022 to $21,500 in 2026. Non-irrigated cropland rose from $6,930 to $8,150 over the same years. The gap shows how much of the price is really the price of water.

Foreign owners

Under a 1978 law, foreign owners must report US agricultural land to USDA. The USDA FSA report on foreign holdings to 31 December 2023 lists 1,343,599 acres of California agricultural land held by foreign persons. That is 3.8% of the state’s privately held agricultural land. It was 1,325,445 acres a year earlier.

Nationally, foreign holdings were nearly 45 million acres, or 3.5% of private agricultural land. Forest was 48% of that, cropland 29%, and pasture and other farm land 21%. Canadian investors held the most, at 33%.

In California the mix is different. Cropland is the largest use, at about 482,000 acres. The United Kingdom is the largest single named country, at about 341,000 acres of reported land. The report lists holders by country and land use, not by wealth, so it says little about single wealthy people.

Who rents land to farmers

USDA’s last full tenure survey, from 2014, found that about 39% of farmland in the 48 lower states was rented. Non-operator landlords, people who own farmland but do not farm it, held 30% of all farmland. The ERS chart on landlord distance shows that landlords living within 50 miles of their land owned 67% of rented acres. ERS found these landlords were more often retired farmers or heirs than distant investors.

That is a national picture, and it is now more than ten years old. Still, it is the best public data on who owns rented farmland. It does not support the idea that faraway investors already own most farm ground.

Chart

Farm real estate value: California vs US

Average $ per acre, land and buildings, 2022-2026

Why rich investors want farmland

1. Steady value. US farm real estate values have risen in each year shown in the NASS series since 2022. Land does not trade on a stock exchange, so its price moves less from day to day.
2. Income from crops or rent. Almonds, pistachios and grapes are among the most valuable crops in the state. California’s farms and ranches took in $64.7 billion in cash receipts in 2025, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
3. Water rights. In much of the state, land with secure surface water or good wells is scarce. Buying land can be a way to control water.
4. Other uses later. Land near cities may be worth more for homes, solar farms or industry than for crops. Solano County is the clearest example.
5. Long-term food demand. Some investors say a growing world will need more food. This is a general view, not a plan to hold food back.

Is anyone stockpiling food?

We found no public evidence that billionaires or funds who buy California farmland are storing food to sell later or to keep it off the market. Almonds, pistachios, citrus and grapes are perishable or are sold through normal packers and exporters. Farmland ownership and food storage are different businesses. If you read a claim about “stockpiling”, ask for the data behind it.

Chart

Foreign-held land in California by investor country

Acres, as of 31 December 2023; five named countries in the USDA table plus all others

How big buyers affect local farms

• Land prices. A buyer with deep pockets can pay more than a family farm can earn from the land. In Solano County, Flannery sued a group of landowners in 2023, claiming they had worked together to push prices up; several later settled.
• Leases. When land changes hands, the new owner may end old leases. Some Solano ranchers lost grazing ground this way.
• Land use. Land can move out of farming if a new owner plans homes, industry or solar. In California, zoning and local votes still decide much of this.

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Buy or rent: what it costs a farmer

For a working farmer, the real question is often whether to buy land at today’s prices or to keep renting. The calculator below compares the yearly cost of owning one acre with paying cash rent. Owning has a cost even with no loan: the money tied up could earn interest elsewhere.

Use your own land price, interest rate, property tax and rent. California property tax is usually close to 1% of assessed value, but your bill can differ, so check it. This is not financial advice; talk to a farm lender or adviser before you buy.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

What family farms and buyers can do

1. Know your local prices. Check the NASS state averages, then ask local appraisers for recent sales of similar land with similar water.
2. Get leases in writing. A written lease with a clear notice period protects you if the land is sold.
3. Check water first. In basins covered by California’s groundwater law (SGMA), pumping limits can change what land is worth. Ask the local groundwater agency.
4. Look at ownership records. County assessor and recorder offices show who owns nearby parcels, even if the name is a company.
5. Track crop health. Lenders and landlords want proof of how fields perform. Satellite crop maps, such as those from Farmonaut, show plant vigour changes field by field through the season.
6. Get advice. Land deals, leases and taxes have legal and financial rules. Talk to a lawyer, lender or tax adviser before you sign.

For more on why investors look at agriculture, see our guide on what agricultural investors look for. For land care that holds value over time, read about regenerative practices for soil health.

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How California compares with the rest of the US

US farms are getting fewer and larger. The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 1.9 million farms, down 6.9% from 2017, according to the USDA NASS Census highlights. Average farm size rose from 441 to 463 acres. Land in farms fell by 20.1 million acres.

California’s land is far more valuable per acre than the US average because of its crops and water. Total farmland and buildings in the state were worth about $323 billion in 2025 (NASS). That high value means any single buyer, however rich, owns a small slice of the total.

Other places use different rules on who can buy farmland. Several US states limit foreign or corporate ownership, and USDA has updated how foreign owners report. In Iowa, a 2022 Iowa State University survey found corporations held 6% of farmland and trusts 23%. Rules change often, so check current state law before any purchase.

Chart

California cropland value, 2022 vs 2026

Average $ per acre, irrigated and non-irrigated cropland

Does it change food prices or food security?

A change in who owns a block of land does not by itself change how much food that land grows.

Ownership can matter in two cases. The first is when land leaves farming for homes, industry or solar. California has many crops that are hard to grow elsewhere, so lost acres of good irrigated land are hard to replace. The second is when one company controls a large share of a single crop, such as pistachios. That can give it more say over prices paid to other growers and charged to buyers. Both are questions for local planning and for competition rules, not proof of a food shortage plan.

Common myths about rich farmland buyers

• “Billionaires own most US farmland.” Not supported. Bill Gates, named the largest US farmland owner by the Land Report in 2020, holds about 275,000 acres on its 2026 list. The US had about 880 million acres in farms in 2022 (USDA NASS).
• “Foreign buyers are taking over California farms.” Foreign owners held 3.8% of the state’s private agricultural land at the end of 2023, and the total rose by about 18,000 acres in a year (USDA FSA).
• “They are hoarding food.” We found no data showing this. Big owners sell crops through normal markets.
• “Land prices only go up.” USDA NASS shows steady rises from 2022 to 2026, but values can fall when farm income or interest rates turn. Past gains do not promise future ones.

How we checked the numbers

We used official USDA data wherever it exists: NASS land values (July 2026), the NASS 2022 Census highlights, the FSA foreign holdings report (data to 31 December 2023) and ERS tenure findings (2014 survey). For individual owners we used the Land Report 100 (2026), which is an estimate by a private magazine, and the California Forever website, which is the company’s own figure. We removed claims from the earlier version of this page that had no source, including an estimated impact table and statements about food stockpiling.

Related pages on our site: crop loan and insurance tools, carbon footprinting, product traceability, fleet management, agro admin app, web app, satellite data API, API developer docs.

FAQ

Which billionaire owns the most farmland in the US?

No official count exists. The Land Report named Bill Gates the largest US farmland owner in 2020, and its 2026 list puts his total land at about 275,000 acres. These are magazine estimates, not official records, and cover many states.

Who owns the most farmland in California?

No official list exists. Among very rich families, the Resnicks of The Wonderful Company stand out, with about 196,775 acres nationwide (Land Report, 2026); the family began with 1,000 acres in Kern County in 1979.

How much California farmland do foreign owners hold?

About 1.34 million acres at the end of 2023, or 3.8% of privately held agricultural land in the state, according to USDA FSA. The largest use was cropland.

Are billionaires stockpiling food?

We found no public data showing that. The documented reasons for buying are land value, crop income, water and possible future uses such as housing.

How much does farmland in California cost?

USDA NASS put the 2026 average at $14,100 an acre for all farm real estate and $21,500 for irrigated cropland. These are survey averages, not sale prices; local sales vary widely.