You know, rich people owning land is one of the oldest clichés in the book.
We were not even shocked to learn that the fourth richest person in the world, billionaire Bill Gates, is listed as the owner of almost 100 000 hectares of farmland in the United States of America.
As of January 2021, the co-founder of Microsoft became the owner of the largest chunk of private farmland across 18 US states, a recent report has revealed.
According to The Land Report, Gates and wife Melinda are the owners of 97 933 hectares of land with massive holdings in the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Nebraska.
Owning the mammoth tracts of land is not the renowned innovator and philanthropist’s first venture into agriculture.
In 2008, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated a grant of $306 million (R4.6 billion) to promote sustainable agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Gates is not alone in his farming pursuits. Here are eight more celebrity farmers, who are beautiful, glamourous, talented and eat from the earth.
Statesman and stud breeder
The president of Mzansi is also the biggest Ankole cattle farmer in the country!
Pres. Ramaphosa first fell in love with Ankole when he visited Ugandan pres. Yoweri Musevani in 2004.
Since then, the Pres. has made major strides as a game farmer and Boran and Bonsmara stud breeder on his farm, Ntaba Nyoni, in Badplaas, Mpumalanga.
The 5 100-hectare farm is home to his prized Ankole herd.
Gladiator turned cattle farmer
When he took on the role of Maximus in the 2000 historical epic, Gladiator, Russell Crowe bagged an Oscar and a 200-hectare ranch in Nana Glen, Australia where he raises more than 700 Black Angus cattle.
In 2019, the actor’s sprawling home was also amongst those tragically damaged in the Australian Bushfire.
Slowly but surely his land has now recovered.
Day time TV queen a lover of the soil
Emmy Award-winning TV personality and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey fondly recalls her days as a young girl growing up in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Here she was raised by her grandmother who grew everything she served on her table.
Since then she began farming her own produce on her very own green slice of heaven in Maui, Hawaii. “Being on Maui and creating a farm feels like coming home,” the media mogul said in an interview with Oprah Magazine.
“Our soil is now so good and so rich that we’re already producing 145 pounds of food each week!”
Sexiest man makes Champagne too
Along with ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt owns a 400-hectare wine estate in Provence, France.
Here he produced his own signature wine, Côtes de Provence Rosé Miraval which won best Rosé in the world in 2012.
He has now set his sights on taking the leading role and created Fleur de Miraval Rosé Champagne which is now the only Champagne house exclusively devoted to Rosé Champagne.
The funny farmer
Actor and comedian Dave Chapelle is the proud owner of a 15-hectare corn farm in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Chapelle first became a household name with his own Emmy Award-wining Comedy Central show, Chapelle’s Show in 2003.
Guardian of the red meat eaters?
So, what does leading man Chris Pratt do when he is not busy kicking ass on our movie screens?
In a world where eating red meat can get you cancelled, Pratt runs a fully functional ranch on San Juan Island in the state of Washington, defending meat eaters across the globe!
The star of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World franchises farms with sheep, chickens and other livestock on the ranch.
Saviour of the cute and furry
Her husband, Francois-Henri Pinault, may be the owner of luxury fashion group Kering, but Salma Hayek prefers to spend her day away from faux fur coats and heels, devoting her time to caring for living fur balls.
According to the Daily Mail, Hayek lives with a total of 50 animals she adopted from various shelters.
Hostess with the freshest produce
For years Martha Stewart has been the go-to gal for all the world’s cooking and household management inspiration. It’s no surprise that she would also try her hand at farming.
Stewart’s 61-hectare Bedford, New York, home features a sprawling vegetable garden and five Canadian Friesian horses among others.
Hip-hop rancher
American rapper Kanye West is the proud owner of a 566-hectare ranch in Cody, Wyoming.
The ranch boasts plenty of wildlife with two lakes with fish as well as wild antelope, mule deer, elk, and 160 cattle and 700 sheep.
The Diamonds from Sierra Leone rapper reportedly intends to use his own sheep herd’s wool to create some of his own Yeezy brand clothing.
