Remember that old Superman movie from the '70s? The whole plot was about stopping Lex Luther from destroying the California coastline to build his own real estate empire. 

Gene Hackman played Lex Luthor to a tee and one of the aspects of the character was his overwhelming drive to acquire real estate. Luthor in the movie says that land is the one thing that you can't make more of and whoever owns the land controls everything

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It got me thinking, who is the largest private landowner in Washington.

Does Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos Own The Most Land In Washington State?

We've got a ton of billionaires like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos in the state but who owns the land? If those Ritchie Rich guys owned the land, we'd hear about it so it can't be those guys right?

Who Is The Largest Private Landowner In Washington State?

So I did a little digging because my curiosity was peaked.

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Who is the largest landowner in Washington State?

I was surprised by what I discovered.

The largest private landowner in Washington State is Weyerhauser.

Weyerhauser Is Washington State's Largest Private Landowner

Weyerhauser owns over 12 million acres across the United States and is based in Seattle.

Weyerhauser was founded in Tacoma Washington in 1900 and still manages all of those acres including some Canadian land as well.

Weyerhauser currently maintains over 900,000 acres in the state of Washington alone.

Weyerhauser operates as a real estate investment trust that manufactures wood products and maintains its property through long-term leases.

Weyerhauser Is Based In Seattle, Formed In Tacoma In 1900

It'll surprise you that some of the Weyerhauser land's resources include sub-surface and surface components that are worth more than the timber on top of it.

Besides being Washington State's largest private landowner, Weyerhauser owns an additional 11 million acres in the United States and Canada.

I was a little surprised but now I know who the real Lex Luthor is.

You can read more about Weyerhauser here.

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Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

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