Just how wealthy Bill Gates really is has been revealed in a report that showed that the Microsoft CEO owns thousands of acres of land, so much so that he is the largest owner of private farmland in the U.S., in addition to owning a significant portion of transitional and recreational land.

Why Gates' wealth may not be surprising - the billionaire is worth almost $132 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index – the amount of land that he does own is staggering – 268,984 acres.

Gates own 242,000 acres of private farmland in the U.S., according to The Land Report.

He also owns nearly 25,000 acres of transitional land that is being converted into a suburb community with 80,000 homes, schools, offices, and stores, and open space of 3,400 acres, AZ Central reported.

And Gates owns another 1,234 acres of recreational land, The Land Report said.

The report indicated that the expansive acreage of land Gates owns is located across 19 states, including Washington, California, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.

While Gates is the third-richest person in the world, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index said, he is not the largest landowner in the U.S.

That spot goes to billionaire and philanthropist John Malone, who owns 2.2 million acres of land. Malone, known as the Cable Cowboy, has a net worth of $7.2 billion, building his fortune on media deals over the years, Forbes said.

1. Bill Gates ($54-billion)
Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, is consistently ranked among the world's richest people. In recent years he has devoted himself to philanthropic endeavors, charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, REUTERS
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