Bill Gates has secured approval to buy 2,100 acres of North Dakota farmland after the deal was initially put on pause by the state’s Attorney General in June.
Gates’ group, Red River Trust, purchased six parcels of land, valued at $13.5 million, from potato farmers in the state, according to Farms.com.
The deal was initially held up after the state’s residents complained they were being exploited by rich people who do not share their values, according to the Daily Mail. (RELATED: Just How Much CO2 Did Woke Elites Spew Flying Private Jets To Davos?)
“I’ve gotten a big earful on this from clear across the state, it’s not even from that neighborhood,” North Dakota’s Agricultural Commissioner, Doug Goehring, said at the time, according to the Daily Mail. “Those people are upset, but there are others that are just livid about this.”
The attorney general asked Gates’ company to prove the purchase of the land did not violate the state’s 1932 Corporate Farming Laws.
Bill Gates acquired six parcels of land in Pembina County. Tuesday, the office of the Attorney General sent out a letter asking the Red River Trust to confirm how the company plans to use the land and if it meets any of the exceptions to the North Dakota Corporate Farming Laws. pic.twitter.com/MGGFKV16mm
— DOCTOR FROM LONG ISLAND NEW YORK (@Doctorfromliny) June 22, 2022
REPORT: Bill Gates Is America’s Top Private Farmland Owner https://t.co/hZeQm3Neai
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 15, 2021
“The Corporate or Limited Liability Company Farming Law has certain exceptions, such as permitting registered family farms or allowing the use of the land for business purposes,” Attorney General Drew Wrigley wrote in the letter.
Wrigley said the purchase does not violate this law, since the land will be leased to farmers, according to Farms.com.
Bill Gates is the largest owner of farmland in the U.S. as of January 2021, owning 242,000 acres across 18 states, the Daily Mail reported.