Bill Gates , Farms and Why Billionaires own everything.

Bill Gates is a billionaire and one of the most successful businessmen in the world. He's also a philanthropist, so it comes as no surprise that he would want to diversify his wealth into something other than stocks, bonds, and real estate.

But what many people don't know is that Bill Gates has been buying large amounts of farmland in Cascade Investment LLC—a company he owns with his wife Melinda Gates.

What's the big deal? Why would one of the richest men on earth want to buy farms? There are several reasons for this:

1) Farmland allows him to diversify his investments and hedge against inflation or market downturns.

2) Farmland has historically been an excellent investment vehicle because it tends to increase in value over time.

3) Farmland can be used as collateral for loans, which can be used to expand other aspects of his business (i.e., Microsoft).

4) Wealth creation is only as good as wealth protection from inflation, taxes and future economic events.

Need another reason?

The IRS counts farm land as an "active business" and therefore doesn't tax you on it. Instead, they only charge you when you sell the land or use it as collateral for a loan—and if you're Bill Gates, that's not going to happen anytime soon.

In fact, every year since 2010, Gates has spent more than $1 billion buying up farmland across the country—making him one of the biggest players in this market today. And he's not alone: other big names like Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry have also gotten into the game! It doesn't hurt that these investments are often located near urban areas where housing prices are skyrocketing so they can be sold off at a profit later on down the road if needed (or just kept as an investment).