Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only; it does not offer financial or investing advice.
Bill Gates has recently been reported as becoming the largest private owner of farmland in the United States.
And some people were enraged at the revelation.
People wondered:
Is he buying farmland to acquire data centers for his technology empire?
Is he buying farmland to execute some sort of plot alongside his climate change advocacy?
Is he buying farmland to build a new agricultural empire?
Our Fear And Fascination Of The Rich
The lifestyles of the rich and famous are almost never discussed without a significant degree of controversy. After all, the average person simply cannot fathom a life with as much money, freedom, and power as that of a billionaire.
It can be both inspiring and disheartening to see someone with enough capital to be able to invest in assets that the average person wouldn’t even consider. We’re fascinated by the personal and professional lives of billionaires because we want to be like them (especially when it comes to net worth), but we also regard them with suspicion and apprehension because we truly have no idea what it is like to be them.
Bill Gates became a household name by founding Microsoft, which became the world’s largest personal computer software company. His biography describes him as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, software developer, author, and investor.
It turns out that Bill Gates is no average investor. It also turns out that the real reason for his investments in agricultural land is nothing controversial. Like most billionaires, Gates has amassed enormous wealth, which he simply wants to safeguard by making stable investments. Gates had purchased farmland with the help of Cascade Investments, which enrolled its farmland in a program by Leading Harvest, “a nonprofit that releases standards for sustainability-focused on biodiversity, conservation, and soil.”
Average Investors Can Now Invest in Real Estate
Like Bill Gates, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is a billionaire for whom the general public seems to have a love/hate perception. Bezos was reported to be the world’s richest man in 2021.
Bezos Expeditions was founded by Bezos as his family office for his personal investments. Bezos Expeditions is now a Series A investor for a startup that offers fractional real estate investing.
Whether it’s farmland or outer space, these technology billionaires seem to keep a keen eye on opportunities to acquire more property. And with the backing of Bezos Expeditions, the future of real estate investing looks exciting.
To invest in fractional real estate, you don’t have to be remotely as wealthy as a billionaire to invest in property. In fact, investing in fractional real estate ownership gives almost any average investor the opportunity to buy shares of a single property.
Fractional real estate shares hold the value of real ownership of a percentage of a home—shares that can be sold for cash. The technology that powers blockchain real estate investments enables democratization; it makes real estate investing less scary and less expensive for the average investor.
Platforms like Real T make real estate investing easier and more accessible to those who do not have the access to the expertise or capital that is traditionally required to purchase a property.