Who Are Montana’s Largest Private Landowners? Here’s The Top 5.

Like it or not, it seems like Montana's for sale, and it looks like it's going to the highest bidder.

This isn't Breaking News, it's been going on for years. However, over the last few years, it feels like it's been happening more often.  For many, the idea of folks moving here from someplace else and buying up large portions of the state is extremely frustrating.

Keep in mind that much of Montana is owned by both the Federal and State Governments and between the two of them, they own around 32 million acres across the state.

Get our free mobile app

But what about the private landowners?   Not every large landowner in Montana is from out of state.  In fact, for many, the land they own has been in the family for generations, however, Montana certainly has its share of folks that are not native and own huge tracts of land.  Let's take a look at The Top 5 according to the folks over at AZ Animals

Plum Creek Timber Company

Plumb Creek Timber Company has over 765 thousand acres here in Montana.  The Company, which was acquired back in 2015 by Washington-based Weyerhauser has over 47 million acres across the nation, and its Montana properties which include several ranches are in the northwestern part of the state.

The Wilks Brothers

Farris and Dan Wilks out of Texas own over 350 thousand acres in Montana.  According to reports, they have over 100 properties in the state including a large ranch near Lewistown, as well as ranches in multiple Montana counties. The brothers are the 12 largest landowners in the United States.

The Galt Family

A multi-generational Montana family, the Galt's own almost 250 thousand acres here in Big Sky Country. Including multiple ranches in a couple of different counties.

Stan Kroenke

Kroenke has over 225 thousand acres here in Montana. Kroenke, a Missouri native is the owner of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment which includes the LA Rams, Denver Nuggets, and Colorado Avalanche as well as other teams.  Kroenke is married to Ann Walton, whose father James founded Walmart with his brother Sam.

The Holding Family

Robert Holding was a successful businessman who not only owned Sinclair Oil, but several hotels, and a couple of ski resorts. The family has a cattle ranch that covers parts of Wyoming and Montana, with over 213 thousand acres here in the state.

As we know, land isn't cheap in Montana, so when you do the math...well let's just say these folks are worth a whole lot of money.