For reasons I don't recall, I told you earlier this year about some people who own really big pieces of land. Lots of land, tracts larger than some countries. One of them is Bill Gates. Well, I just stumbled upon some new examples and will present them to you quickly as the year ends.
Rupert Murdoch
The elderly gentlemen above is Mr. Murdoch, pictured with this wife who you may have seen before in a picture with another older gentlemen. They have many reasons to be happy, one supposes, and now they have another one, a small spread in Montana they just purchased.
"Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his wife, Jerry Murdoch, have purchased a Montana cattle ranch spanning about 340,000 acres from Matador Cattle Co., a subsidiary of Koch Industries. The price was roughly $200 million, making it the largest ranch sale in Montana history, according to people with knowledge of the deal....
Mr. Bernall said the property spans 50 miles, from north to south, crossing two separate counties. Mr. Murphy said the ranch is home to around 4,000 elk, 800 antelope and 1,500 mule deer. There is also a 28-mile-long creek stocked with trout. The property has 25 homes, mostly for employees. "This is a working ranch," said Mr. Bernall.
They also have a few other places to live including:
The Murdoch family also owns a ranch in California. In 2013, Mr. Murdoch purchased an estate and winery in Los Angeles's Bel-Air neighborhood after learning about the vineyard from an article in The Wall Street Journal. In Mr. Murdoch's native Australia, the family owns Cavan Station, a roughly 25,000-acre sheep and cattle farm in New South Wales, according to the spokesman.
The Queen
She will probably be at her country estate (Sandringham) where she will have almost 20,000 acres to roam around, avoiding the difficult family discussions which those of us in smaller abodes have to endure. She also has other options and just a few are noted here:
Buckingham Palace - Did you know: According to the royal family's official website, the palace has 775 rooms, including a roughly 120-foot-long ballroom and London's largest private backyard.
Buckingham Palace - Did you know: According to the royal family's official website, the palace has 775 rooms, including a roughly 120-foot-long ballroom and London's largest private backyard.
Windsor Castle - Details: William the Conqueror began building a timber castle just west of London in about 1070, according to the RCT. In the late 12th century, King Henry II rebuilt it in stone. It now has around 1,000 rooms and reportedly measures 484,000 square feet, with around 13 acres of grounds.
Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland
Details: This palace was originally a monastery founded around 1128. It features royal chambers which King James IV began converting into a palace in the early 16th century. Relatively compact by royal standards, it measures 87,120 square feet with some 289 rooms, according to RCT.
Balmoral Castle and Estate, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Details: In 1852, Prince Albert bought the 50,000-acre Balmoral Estate for his wife, Queen Victoria. He then commissioned a new castle with a reported 50 bedrooms to accommodate the royal family and their entourage.
I could go on.
Some Canadian Content:
A very tall WOODEN building is about to be built on the campus of George Brown College, thanks to a generous donation by Jack Cockwell, who owns a lot of woods.
The building will be called Limberlost Place, after Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve in Ontario’s Muskoka region, which Jack Cockwell bought in 1985. Mr. Cockwell, 80, had parlayed modest beginnings as an accountant in South Africa into a job at the helm at what became Brookfield Asset Management Inc....
The Cockwells also recently bought a 150,000-acre black spruce forest near Timmins. They own three sawmills in Ontario, and control about one million acres of forest in New Brunswick and Maine.
Sources:
"Private Properties: Rupert Murdoch Buys $200 Million Ranch From the Koch Family," The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 10, 2021.
"The Houses of Windsor - Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles Each Control Over a Billion Dollars in Property, and That is Just the Real Estate That Can be Valued: Here's a Look at Their Extensive Holdings," The Wall Street Journal Dec. 10, 2021.
"Private Properties: Rupert Murdoch Buys $200 Million Ranch From the Koch Family," The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 10, 2021.
"The Houses of Windsor - Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles Each Control Over a Billion Dollars in Property, and That is Just the Real Estate That Can be Valued: Here's a Look at Their Extensive Holdings," The Wall Street Journal Dec. 10, 2021.
You may not be able to read the WSJ, because it is behind a paywall. It is owned by Mr. Murdoch. The Montana property will probably be fenced in as well.
For the article about Mr. Cockwell, see: "'Mass Timber' Movement Breaking Ground on Ontario's Tallest Wooden Building," Peter Kuitenbrouwer, G&M, Dec. 14, 2021.
The Bonus:
If, as Proudhon stated, "Property is theft", then you can read about some of the biggest thieves in my earlier posts: Bill Gates: The Farmer and Real Land Lords. So as not to be accused of leaving out female examples, see the land lady Mrs. John L. Marion, mentioned in Sotheby's.
