By Christian Leonard and Emma Stiefel : sfchronicle – excerpt

Who are California’s biggest landowners?

According to a Chronicle analysis relying on 13.2 million property records obtained from property data company Regrid, the state’s seven largest owners of private land share something in common: All are in the forestry or agriculture industries, ranging from long-standing logging companies to a nut tycoon.

Regrid’s property numbers, which the company calculates based on county parcel data, are from 2022, meaning they don’t reflect recent acquisitions or sales some of the businesses below have made. They’re also conservative estimates, and while the Chronicle attempted to group companies with their affiliates and subsidiaries where possible, parcels of less than 1,000 acres were not included in that grouping.

Below are descriptions of each of these mega-landowners and maps of what they control. You can learn more about who owns any property in California by exploring our map of all 13.2 million properties here…(more)

Anybody who is concerned about the landowning lumber and agricultural interests in California shlould read this article.