The World’s Largest Landowners

There are farms, forests, and rural properties all over the world. But have you ever thought about who owns the most land in the world? Some properties are owned by major organizations, while others are owned by private landowners. The researchers at Madison Trust looked at land ownership data to determine who owns the most land in the world. Keep reading to see who comes out on top!

Who Owns the Most Land in the World?

The largest landowner in the world currently is King Charles III of England. How much land does the Royal Family own? He and the British Royal Family own more than 6,600,000,000 acres of land around the world. They technically own many territories around the globe, amounting to 1/6 of the surface of the planet. The family owns land in the United Kingdom, Canada, and beyond.

Second on the list is the Catholic Church. Their 177 million acres are located throughout the world and include churches, schools, and farms. They also own many religious landmarks like the Scala Sancta and the Apostolic Palace as well as farmland.

In third are the Inuit people of Nunavut in Canada. According to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act of 1993, the government of Canada and the government of the Northwest Territories granted the Inuit people ownership of a separate territory called Nunavut, which is about 87 million acres in size. It was (and still is) the largest land claim settlement in the history of Canada.

The fourth entry on the list is Gina Rinehart, who is the richest person in Australia. She is a mining magnate who has more than $30 billion. She owns 23 million acres of land consisting mainly of forests and cattle farms. Rinehart made her fortune on iron ore and is the daughter of iron-ore explorer Lang Hancock.

Ranking fifth are the Inuvialuit people of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in Canada, with more than 22 million acres. The Inuvialuit Settlement Region (sometimes abbreviated as ISR) was designated by the government of Canada in 1984 and includes several areas of land, including the northern portion of Yukon and the northwest portion of the Northwest Territories.

The largest farm in the world is Mudanjiang City Mega Farm, which is located in Heilongjiang, China, and ranks sixth on the list. At more than 22 million acres, the massive farm has more than 100,000 dairy cows and produces 800 million liters of milk every year.

How Many Acres of Land Are on Earth?

Earth is mostly covered by water; in fact, it makes up 71% of the surface of the planet. In total, there are about 57 million square miles of land on the planet, which amounts to 36 billion acres. Much of this land is uninhabitable, as it is either mountainous or desert land. It’s estimated that there are about 15 billion acres of habitable land on the planet. Considering that there are 7.8 billion people on Earth, there is just less than 2 acres for every person. This doesn’t account for the many public services and commodities, like grocery stores, schools, roads, lakes, and parks.

About 900 million acres of land in the United States is considered farmland, which is about 40% of all land in the country. See who owns the most land in the U.S.!

The Biggest Landowners in the World

The following are the largest private landowners in the world:

Rank	Name	Locations	Size (acres)	Notes
1	King Charles III and the British Royal Family	United Kingdom, Canada	6,600,000,000	This amounts to 1/6 of the surface of the planet and includes locations in London, rural Britain, and more than 90% of the land in Canada.
2	Catholic Church	Worldwide	177,000,000	In addition to churches, parochial schools, and other properties, the Catholic Church owns farms and other real estate throughout Italy.
3	Inuit People of Nunavut	Canada	87,500,000	The land was legally given by the Canadian government in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement of 1993.
4	Gina Rinehart	Australia, United States	23,969,000	Rinehart is Australia's richest person, a mining magnate, and a businesswoman.
5	Inuvialuit People of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region	Canada	22,486,000	This land was designated in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement of 1984.
6	Mudanjiang City Mega Farm	China	22,239,000	This is the largest farm in the world and has more than 100,000 dairy cows.
7	Australian Agricultural Company	Australia	17,297,000	The Australian Agricultural Company is Australia's oldest agricultural company, and its largest shareholder is Joe Lewis, one of the richest people in the United Kingdom.
8	North Australian Pastoral Company	Australia	14,826,000	The North Australian Pastoral Company was founded in 1877 and is among the biggest cattle companies.
9	Jumbuck Pastoral Company	Australia	14,208,000	Jumbuck Pastoral Company is the largest producer of wool in Australia.
10	Handbury Group	Australia	13,047,000	The company owns the Swinging Shovel property in South Australia and The Rises in Western Australia.
11	Williams Family	Australia	11,119,000	This family owns the largest working cattle farm in the world.
12	Paraway Pastoral Company	Australia	10,872,000	The company owns many major sheep, cattle, and crop businesses throughout Australia.
13	Consolidated Pastoral Company	Australia, Indonesia	8,895,000	This company is owned by Guy Hands's Terra Firma Capital Partners and has 300,000 cattle at a time.
14	McDonald Family	Australia	8,302,000	The McDonald family has been farming in Australia since the early 19th century.
15	Hughes Family	Australia	7,660,000	The family has the world's largest privately held Wagyu herd.
16	Crown Point Pastoral Company	Australia	7,500,000	The Costello and Oldfield families joined together to purchase this property.
17	Brook Family	Australia	7,413,000	Organic agricultural farmer David Brook owns and operates farms throughout southern Queensland and South Australia.
18	Heytesbury Cattle Company	Australia	6,671,000	The Holmes à Court family owns cattle farms across Australia's Northern Territory.
19	Svenska Cellulosa AB	Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania	6,400,000	The group owns 6 million acres of forest in northern Sweden, amounting to 6% of Sweden's surface area.
20	Brett Blundy	Australia	5,930,000	Brett Blundy, who owns BB Retail Capital and BBRC, has amassed many acres of cattle farm property through the years.
21	Mutooroo Pastoral Company	Australia	5,189,00	The Morgan and Wells families own this land, which includes five cattle farms.
22	Hewitt Family	Australia	5,065,000	The Hewitt family owns more than a dozen holdings in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Northern Territory.
23	Mondi Group	Russia, South Africa	5,000,000	The group is one of the biggest packaging and paper companies in the world and has production sites in more than 30 countries.
24	Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest	Australia	4,779,000	Forrest, one of Australia's richest people, owns 16 properties in numerous parts of Australia, including the 2.7-million-acre Narwietooma property in the Northern Territory.
25	Cleveland Agriculture	Australia	4,738,000	Cleveland Agriculture, owned by Malcolm Harris and his family, owns several cattle farms around Australia.

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