When some of the richest people on the planet start accumulating the same tangible asset, it's worth asking what they see in it.
Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg built their fortunes through technology, but each now controls vast stretches of something far more old-fashioned: land, including farms, ranches and other agricultural property.
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According to the Land Report (1), Gates owns 275,000 acres of land across America, making the Microsoft co-founder the country's 44th-largest private landowner. His holdings include 250,000 acres of highly productive farmland.
Then there's Bezos. The Amazon founder may be reaching for the stars through his rocket company Blue Origin, but he hasn't lost sight of the ground beneath his feet: he owns 462,000 acres (2) of land across America.
Meanwhile, Meta CEO Zuckerberg's $300 million Ko'olau Ranch on the Hawaiian island of Kauai now spans roughly 4,000 acres (3).
And those holdings look modest beside the empire of billionaire Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams and husband of Walmart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke. He owns an estimated 2.7 million acres (4).
The attraction isn't only recreational. Farmland has grown into a $4.3 trillion asset class, according to Steve Bruere, president of agricultural real estate firm Peoples Company.
And values are still climbing. The average value of U.S. farmland reached roughly $4,350 per acre (5) last year, up 4.3% from a year earlier.
For wealthy investors, farmland offers a rare combination of qualities. It is tangible, its supply is inherently limited and it can generate income through crops or rent while potentially appreciating over time.
And come what may, people always need to eat. Because demand for food doesn't disappear when the stock market falls, farmland can also help diversify a portfolio dominated by public equities.
The asset has been viewed as an inflation hedge as well. When food prices and other costs rise, the income and value associated with productive agricultural land may rise with them.
"If you believe you want diversification, and you also believe we're going to have underlying inflation — which is what a lot of people want right now — then farmland is a great option for them," Bruere told Fortune.
But the billionaire rush can also come at a cost. As deep-pocketed investors compete for a finite supply of land, the people who actually farm it can struggle to keep up.
Nearly 40% of U.S. farmland is already rented to farmers and operators, Fortune reported. Renting can help new farmers get started, but those who are repeatedly outbid lose the opportunity to gain full control over the land, build equity in it, use it as collateral and eventually pass the asset to the next generation.
"It makes it much harder for farmers to compete, especially beginning farmers who are maybe trying to acquire their first farm, or even an existing farmer who might want to grow and expand," Erin Foster West, policy campaigns director at the National Young Farmers Coalition, told Fortune.
That tension helps explain why this billionaire buying spree is drawing attention. But you don't need hundreds of millions of dollars — nor do you need to buy an entire farm — to add the same real asset to your portfolio.
FarmTogether gives accredited investors a way to invest in fractional ownership of U.S. farmland. Investors can potentially earn income from crop production while also benefiting if the value of the land increases over time.
The platform has $217 million in assets under management across 51 funded deals, covering eight states and 15 crop types. FarmTogether says each offering goes through a 105-point due diligence process, and less than 1% of deals in its pipeline make it onto the platform.
Farmland has also historically held up differently than other assets during downturns. According to FarmTogether's own data comparing NCREIF indices from 1992-2025, farmland's returns have shown a lower correlation to inflation than stocks, bonds or REITs.
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Farmland may be making headlines, but it represents only one corner of the real estate market favored by the ultrawealthy.
Bezos has assembled a residential property portfolio reportedly worth more than $700 million (6), spanning Beverly Hills, Manhattan, Miami, Maui, Washington, D.C., and the Seattle area. Zuckerberg, meanwhile, has amassed homes and estates across California, Hawaii, Florida and Washington, D.C.
Their properties may be far more extravagant than the average rental home, but the underlying appeal is familiar: real estate can generate income, appreciate over time and provide diversification beyond stocks and bonds.
And like farmland, other types of real estate can also help investors hedge against inflation.
That's because when inflation rises, property values often increase as well, reflecting the higher costs of materials, labor and land. At the same time, rental income tends to go up, providing landlords with a revenue stream that adjusts for inflation.
Over the past ten years, the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index (7) has jumped by 87%, reflecting strong demand and limited housing supply.
Of course, high home prices can make buying a home more challenging, especially with mortgage rates still elevated. And being a landlord isn't exactly hands-off work — managing tenants, maintenance and repairs can quickly eat into your time (and returns).
The good news? You don't need to buy a property outright — or deal with leaky faucets — to invest in real estate today. Crowdfunding platforms like mogul offer an easier way to get exposure to this income-generating asset class.
As a real estate investment platform offering fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, mogul gives investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — without the need for a hefty down payment or 3 a.m. tenant calls.
Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the team hand-picks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. In other words, you gain access to institutional-quality offerings for a fraction of the usual cost.
Each property undergoes a rigorous vetting process, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.
Sign up for an account and browse available properties here to start investing today.
Another option is Lightstone DIRECT, which gives accredited investors access to single-asset multifamily and industrial deals.
Lightstone DIRECT's direct-to-investor model ensures a high degree of alignment between individual investors and a vertically-integrated, institutional owner-operator — a sophisticated and streamlined option for individual investors looking to diversify into private-market real estate.
With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its own capital, with minimum investments starting at $100,000.
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Land Report (1), (2), (4); Fortune (3); Economic Research Service (5); Architectural Digest (6); S&P Global (7)
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