Montana’s Largest Land Owners

The annual Land Report 100 list recently came out, ranking the largest private land owners in the country.  Several of those filthy rich tycoons own land, and lots of it, right here in Montana.

The Wilks brothers, Dan and Farris, are the largest private land owners in the state.  After making a fortune in the fracking business, they started buying up land a few years ago and they now own nearly 350,000 acres. Paul wishes his "fracking" business could make some more "fracking" money, so he could buy up half the state.

The Plum Creek Timber Company are the third biggest land owners in Montana, with over 260,00 acres in the northwest part of the state. The 71 Ranch, owned by the Galt family, isn't far behind, with nearly 250,000 acres of land.

Stanley Kroenke, the billionaire owner of the St. Louis Rams NFL franchise, the Denver Nuggets NBA franchise and the Colorado Avalanche NHL franchise is the fifth largest land owner in Montana.  His PV Ranch Company and the Broken O Livestock company make up over 225,000 acres in our state.  Nationwide, Kroenke ranks among the top largest private land owners.

Times must be tough for poor Ted Turner.  The media mogul is now only the 8th largest land owner in Montana, which a measly 149,000 acres.  Surprisingly, his land holding in Montana have actually decreased in the past year.  Don't shed too many tears for poor Ted, he's still the second largest private land owner in America.