WHO ARE THE BIGGEST LANDOWNERS IN MONTANA? NUMBER FOUR SURPRISED ME.

WHO OWNS THE MOST PRIVATE LAND IN MONTANA?

Here is a list of the top five.

5.  Robert Holding.  Holding is a businessman out of Utah who passed away in 2013.  His family owns nearly 214,000 acres of land, mostly in southern Montana.  His family owns a ski resort in Sun Valley, Idaho and one in Ogden, Utah.    At one time he owned Sinclair Oil.  He is reportedly worth around $4,000,000,000.

4.  Stan Kroenke. 226,000 acres.  

Kroenke married into the Walton family in 1974.  He owns several professional sports teams including the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and the Los Angeles Rams.  He owns two ranches in Montana.  One of them is the Cedar Creek Ranch near Ennis.  He's reportedly worth $13,000,000,000.  Kroenke pictured below.

3.  Gault Family.  248,000 acres.

The Galt Family has held this land for over 70-years.  The family reportedly owns several ranches around Montana.

2. Farris and Dan Wilks.  360,000 acres.

The Wilks brothers are out of Texas.  Montana holdings include the N-Bar Ranch near Lewistown and ranches and properties in Bighorn, Garfield, Meagher, and Blaine counties.  They are also reportedly one of the top ten landowners in the U.S.  They are reportedly worth over $,5,000,000,000. Picture of Wilks brothers below.

1. Plum Creek Timber.  766,000 acres.

The company is listed as the largest private landowner in Montana.  In 2015 they merged with Weyerhaeuser Company out of Washington State.  Most of its original holdings were acquired  in the mid 1800s from Burlington Northern anad from Northern Pacific Railway.   Most of their land holdings are in northwest Montana.