Maybe 270,000 acres isn't what it used to be.
Two billionaire brothers from Texas recently bought 177,000 acres of ranch land in Montana, bringing their total land holdings in the state to more than 276,000. The brothers, Farris and Dan Wilks, who made their money from selling Frac Tech (the oil business), now own 431 square miles in Montana.
As large as that sounds, their purchases still don't rank them in the top 10 individual or family landowners in America. In fact, they would barely crack the top 30. (Read more: Why Millionaires Prefer Dogs)
With land prices rebounding, and wealthy families looking for tangible assets, large tracts of land have become increasingly attractive investments. Many of the wealthy are still scarred by the market drop of 2008 and want more stable assets.
Some use the land for working ranches. Others use it for agriculture, timber or other sources of income.