According to the Forbes article "This Land is My Land," Mr. Ted Turner individually owns the most land in the United States, which probably makes him the person who owns more land in the world. Turner's holdings are comprise roughly 1,800,000 acres spread across half a dozen states. Probably some Sheik or Emir in the Middle East owns more land but that would be hard to know for sure. According to the journalism research group FacsNet, the federal government owns 624 million acres, or 27 percent of the US land. Another big player in real estate globally is the Catholic Church, at least until the 80s it was the biggest land owner in Europe, and a big player in most countries in the world (think about it, every church, catholic school, convent or monastery...plus the lands that they own as an investment). So the Pope, could be one of the biggest land owners in the world. Interesting, isn't it?

Jay Leno

Who Owns the World is a breathtaking tome of huge political, economic and social importance. It will revolutionise our understanding of our planet, its history and its land. An incredible work of research, seven years in the making, Who Owns The World is the first ever compilation of landowners and landownership structures in every single one of the world’s 197 states and 66 territories. It covers the history of landownership as far as written history will allow and shows the division of landownership in every region of the globe. Packed with revelatory information, Who Owns The World reveals the largest landowner on earth. Queen Elizabeth II, head of state of the United Kingdom and of 31 other states and territories, is the legal owner of approximately 6,600 million acres of land. That equals one sixth of the earth’s non-ocean surface. She is the only person on earth who owns whole countries, and who owns countries that are not her own domestic territory. This land ownership is separate from her role as head of state and is different from other monarchies where no such claim is made, such as Norway, Belgium and Denmark. The value of Elizabeth II’s holdings is approximately £17,600,000,000,000. This makes her the richest individual on earth. However, there is no way to easily value her real estate. There is no current market in the land of entire countries. At a rough estimate of $5,000 an acre, and based on the sale of Alaska to the USA by the Tsar, and of Louisiana to the USA by France, the Queen’s land holding is worth a notional $33,000,000,000,000 (Thirty three trillion dollars or about £17,600,000, 000,000 trillion pounds). Her holding is based on the laws of the countries she owns and her land title is valid in all the countries she owns. Her main holdings are Canada, the 2nd largest country on earth, with 2,467 million acres, Australia, the 7th largest country on earth with 1,900 million acres, Papua New Guinea with 114 million acres, New Zealand with 66 million acres and the UK with 60 million acres. The next 5 largest landholdings The Queen is the world’s largest landowner by a significant margin. The next largest landowner is the Russian state, with an overall ownership of 4,219 million acres, and a direct ownership comparable with the Queen’s land holding of 2,447 million acres. The 3rd largest landowner is the Chinese state, which claims all of Chinese land - about 2,365 million acres. The 4th largest landowners on earth is the Federal Government of the United States which owns about one third of the land of the USA - 760 million acres. The fifth largest landowner one earth is the King of Saudi Arabia with 553 million acres. The 5 largest personal landholdings on earth. Queen Elizabeth II 6,600 million acres King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia 553 million acres King Bhumibol of Thailand 126 million acres King Mohammed IV of Morocco 113 million acres Sultan Quaboos of Oman 76 million acres The estimates of the Queen’s landholdings, which have immense political, legal and economic implications, appear in Kevin Cahill’s book Who Owns the World. The book examines land ownership in each one of the world’s 197 states or countries and 66 major territories, with a page for each country and territory. (Part 2) It is the first such survey of landownership ever attempted and includes estimates of the land owned by the Papacy, the Islamic Mosque trusts and the Buddhist and Hindu religions (chapter 5). It examines the land holdings of the 26 largest landholders on earth (chapter 3) and of how 60% of Europe is owned by the aristocracy, who also get 60% of the EU annual agricultural subsidy of Euros 28,000 million (total subsidy $48,000 million) About the Author Kevin Cahill was born in Rathdowney, Co. Laois, in the Irish Republic, and now lives in Devon, in the UK, with his wife, Ros. They have three grown-up daughters. A former army officer, Kevin has worked in the House of Commons, the House of Lords, the Irish Parliament and the European Parliament as an advisor and researcher. He is the author of a number of books on business, trade and landownership and was a researcher on the original Sunday Times Rich List. He detailed the European wealthy for the Merril Lynch-CAP Gemini ‘World Wealth Report 2002’ and compiled EuroBusiness’s list of the ‘200 Richest Women in the world 2001’. He was educated at Rockwell College and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He has an honours degree in English literature, is a qualified systems analyst and is a working journalist.