Business
Billionaire Rams owner Stan Kroenke becomes America’s biggest private landowner
Stan Kroenke of the Los Angeles Rams on the sideline during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at SoFi Stadium Inglewood, California, Oct. 8, 2023.
Ric Tapia | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
Stanley Kroenke owns the world’s most valuable sports empire, including the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. Now the sports tycoon is also America’s largest private landowner, according to the newly released Land Report.
At 2.7 million acres, Kroenke’s holdings are larger than Yellowstone National Park — or the equivalent of roughly 2 million football fields.
Kroenke bought nearly 1 million acres of New Mexico ranchland in December from the family behind industrial conglomerate Teledyne, per The Land Report. According to the trade publication, the Singleton Ranches transaction is the largest land purchase in the U.S. in more than a decade. Late Teledyne founder Henry Singleton started his namesake ranch in the 1980s, and it’s grown into one of the nation’s largest cattle- and horse-breeding operations.
The acquisition vaulted Kroenke from fourth to first on The Land Report’s annual ranking of the country’s 100 largest private landowners, leapfrogging the Emmerson lumber family as well as billionaire media moguls John Malone and Ted Turner.
Most of the top 100 landowners aren’t boldface names like Kroenke. The Emmerson family, which ranks second, owns an estimated 2.44 million acres through their forest-products company Sierra Pacific Industries. The Singleton family, which sold the New Mexico ranches to Kroenke, still made the cut at 98th place with 171,000 acres.
However, investing in U.S. farmland has become popular among the ultra wealthy as a hedge against inflation and stock market volatility. From 2019 to 2024, farmland values have grown at an average annual rate of 5.8%, or 2% after inflation, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Billionaire entrepreneurs from Bill Gates to Philip Anschutz are increasingly buying up swaths of land for farming, ranching and forestry. Gates ranks 44th overall on The Land Report list with 275,000 acres but is still the largest private owner of U.S. farmland, specifically. Owned through his investment group, Cascade Investment, Gates’ farmland grows soybeans, corn, cotton, rice and even potatoes used for McDonald’s french fries.
Online brokerage billionaire Thomas Peterffy and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also made the cut, with 647,000 acres and 462,000 acres, respectively.
Kroenke has been able to grow his land holdings relatively quickly by acquiring massive ranches that have been held in families for decades or even generations. He bought one of his largest ranches, Waggoner Ranch in north Texas, for $725 million in 2016, ending 160 years of family ownership. While these one-of-a-kind ranches are in short supply, more are hitting the market as heirs decide to sell rather than carry on the family business.
Business
‘Our refineries are robust!’: India can process Venezuelean crude oil when available; here’s what IOCL chairman said – The Times of India
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) said that the country’s refineries are capable of processing Venezuelan crude if supplies resume. “If at all things start settling down, if at all a lot of crude starts coming out of Venezuela, then can’t we import oil from Venezuela?” he said.The executive further added that the company, used to process Venezuelean crude a decade back and can do so again. “Venezuelan crude earlier when it was available, like 10 years back or eight years back when it used to be there in the market,” Sahney said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
Speaking about the capabilities of the refineries, the chairman highlighted that they are strong and can process the supplies. “So our refineries are varied, our refineries are robust. They can process in an admixed manner, but we can process Venezuelan crude if and when it is made available.”The remarks follow the US’s capture of outsted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation and an agreement to send 50 million barrels of oil, worth $5.2 billion, to the interim Venezuelan government.Sahney also highlighted India’s favourable economic and energy landscape. “India is growing at a phenomenal rate, and everybody is interested in talking about doing business with India,” he said.Commenting on global crude prices, he noted, “Crude has been trading in the range of $60-65 per barrel over the past several months. For the better part of the last six months, they were at $60 or below. This is a good zone where economic growth is also happening and sellers of crude are comfortable.”Pointing out India’s reliance on imports, he said, “India remains heavily dependent on imports to meet its energy needs, with IOCL importing about 85-87% of its crude oil requirements. The current price band is supportive for economic stability.”Sahney explained that refining margins depend on more than crude prices. “Refining margin is a very broad term. It is finally affected by the cracks in the international market. Today, cracks are working fine. They have returned to normalcy but are still in a healthy zone,” he said.He added that government policy has also supported the sector. “There is no problem on the policy side. Whatever support is required has already been given. It is up to us to improve profitability by increasing efficiency, reducing costs and optimising the supply chain,” Sahney said.Moving forward, Indian Oil plans to continue investing across the energy value chain, including downstream petrochemicals and cleaner energy solutions.The WEF’s 56th Annual Meeting runs from January 19 to 23, 2026, in Davos-Klosters, with around 3,000 participants from over 130 countries, including world leaders, CEOs, innovators and policymakers, under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue.”
Business
Stock Market Update: Sensex Rises Over 50 Points, Nifty Above 25,250; Eternal, Sun Pharma Gain 2% Each
Last Updated:
A day after Indian equity markets witnessed heavy selling pressure, benchmark indices are likely to open marginally higher on Wednesday
Stock Market Today
A day after Indian equity markets witnessed heavy selling pressure, benchmark indices are likely to open marginally higher on Wednesday. However, sentiment remains cautious as global cues continue to stay weak amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
The early indicator of market direction, GIFT Nifty, was trading 0.05 percent higher at around 8:00 AM.
Trading on Dalal Street is expected to remain stock-specific with the Q3 earnings season in full swing. Companies such as Eternal, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hindustan Petroleum and PNB Housing Finance are scheduled to announce their quarterly results today.
Rupee At Record Low
The Indian rupee opened at a record low of 91.07 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
Global cues
Asian markets extended their losses on Wednesday, weighed down by renewed geopolitical concerns after the US President issued fresh warnings to European nations over the Greenland issue. Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.35 percent after government bond yields rebounded, a day after a sharp selloff.
Trump has imposed a 10 percent tariff on eight European countries, effective February 1, with the rate set to rise to 25 percent in June, after they opposed his plans to acquire Greenland.
Overnight, Wall Street recorded its worst session since April last year, according to Bloomberg, with market volatility touching its highest level since November. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended more than 2 percent lower.
The spotlight this week remains on the World Economic Forum in Davos, where global leaders have raised concerns over the dominance of “superpowers”. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, in a key address, said the “rules-based international order” is effectively dead.
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January 21, 2026, 09:11 IST
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Snapchat’s parent Snap has settled a social media addiction lawsuit just days before the landmark case was due to go to trial in Los Angeles.
Terms of the deal were not announced as it was revealed by lawyers at a California Superior Court hearing, after which Snap told the BBC the parties were “pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner”.
Other defendants in the case include Instagram parent Meta, ByteDance’s TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube, none of which have settled.
The plaintiff, a 19-year old woman identified by the initials K.G.M., alleged that the algorithmic design of the platforms left her addicted and affected her mental health.
In the absence of a settlement with the other parties, the trial is scheduled to go forward against the remaining three defendants, with jury selection due to begin on 27 January.
Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify, and until Tuesday’s settlement, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel was also set to take the stand.
Meta, TikTok and Alphabet did not respond to BBC inquiries seeking reaction to the settlement.
Snap is still a defendant in other social media addiction cases that have been consolidated in the court.
The closely watched cases could challenge a legal theory that social media companies have used to shield themselves.
They have long argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 protects them from liability for what third parties post on their platforms.
But plaintiffs argue that the platforms are designed in a way that leaves users addicted through choices that affect their algorithms and notifications.
The social media companies have said the plaintiffs’ evidence falls short of proving that they are responsible for alleged harms such as depression and eating disorders.
Hoosiers receive heroes’ welcome in return to Bloomington
‘Our refineries are robust!’: India can process Venezuelean crude oil when available; here’s what IOCL chairman said – The Times of India
Stock Market Update: Sensex Rises Over 50 Points, Nifty Above 25,250; Eternal, Sun Pharma Gain 2% Each
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