The 5 Richest farmers in the world

Following on with our Top 5 series of articles, here is the top 5 Richest farmers in the world.

1. Liu Yongxing (China) $6.6Bn
2. Liu Yonghao (China) $4.6Bn
3. Steward & Lynda Resnick $4Bn (USA)
4. Prince Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer $3.8Bn (Saudi)
5. Harry Stine $3.5Bn (USA)

(Source Agronomag.com)

First & second position is occupied by two brothers Liu Yongxing & Liu Yonghao.

1. Liu Yongxing: East Hope Group which specialises in producing animal feeds for chickens, ducks & fish. The company’s products are mainly available in China but are exported to Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia & Cambodia.
2. Liu Yonghao: Like his brother, he established an agribusiness called the New Hope Liuhe and has 500 subsidiaries and branches focusing on the animal husbandry sector developing products mainly around support services and fodder.
3. Stewart & Lynda Resnick: The couple have a net worth of $4Bn made from their almonds, oranges and grapefruits grown on their own land, which is located in the Central valley of California and South Texas. Staggeringly, over half of the USA purchases their products ranging from Fiji Water and halos mandarin oranges to POM wonderful. Stewart Resnick purchased his first parcel of land in 1978.
4. Prince Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer: $3.8Bn (Saudi)A member of the Saudi Royal family, the prince founded a dairy company called Almari in 1977.Almari, is on of the largest dairy producers in the middle east, distributing milk from its Holstein dairy cows right across the gulf. In 2005 he took the company public retaining a 24% stake which has given him a net worth of $3.8Bn.
5. Harry Stine: was the son of a farmer, who founded the hugely successful Stine Seeds which is the largest private seed company in the world. Mr.Stine made his fortune from licensing corn and soybean genetics to large multinationals.

What I found interesting, is that all of these people tend to come from large countries such as China or the U.S obviously as there is a plentiful supply of land. A common thread is that everyone on the rich list was or is involved with agrobusiness in some form or another from Dairy to Seeds to food processing, the key to their wealth is in the addition of value to their produce. Maybe there is a lesson here, for us less minted farmers, to try and add greater value to our own produce?

-Author Richard Hobson – Founder Herdsy