The Largest Land Owner In U.S. Has 3 Ranches In Montana

If you are familiar with modern country music, you know in the last couple of years a popular song played on the radio has been "Buy Dirt".

The idea behind the song? Well, there is only so much land and they can't make any more, so it's only going to increase in value. That's certainly been the case here in Big Sky Country where a popular trend over the last couple of decades is for the rich and powerful to buy large plots of Montana.

READ MORE: Are less people moving to Montana?

It's interesting, because a particular Montana land owner has just been crowned the largest land owner in the United States.

Oh, and if you're wondering, he isn't from Montana. He is actually from a very little town in Missouri, where his Dad had a lumber company. So, how do you go from a kid from a town of 24 to owning the most land in America?

Easy, Walmart.

Stan Kroenke who is now the largest private land owner in the U.S. is also the owner of the Los Angels Rams. His family also owns the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche. Kroenke happened to marry one of the Walton girls, who's father was Bud, brother to Sam who started Walmart.

Kroenke started a construction company and then specialized in building up the property around...you guessed it, Walmart's. Among Kroenke's holdings include 3 big properties here in Montana:

• Broken O Ranch- The Broken O is a massive ranch near Augusta that is compiled of 124 thousand acres.
• Cedar Creek Ranch- The Cedar Creek Ranch is near Ennis.
• PV Ranch- The PV Ranch near Hysham is a cattle ranch. 

In total, it is reported that Kroenke owns over 225 thousand acres in Montana. He also owns large portions in Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada, as well as large portions of land in British Columbia.

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