Who Owns the World's Forests—and Why It Matters

Inside the hidden battle for land, legacy, and the future of the planet.

Author

Philip Saparov
September 17, 2025

In partnership with

Greetings, seeker of truth beneath the treetops —

Forests aren't just wild landscapes. They're billion-dollar battlegrounds—quietly shaping climate futures, indigenous rights, and who profits from the planet’s lungs.

In this edition, we dig into the tangled roots of global forest ownership. Who controls the trees? Who cashes in on carbon? And who’s quietly rewriting the rules of land, life, and legacy?

Let’s trace the money, the power, and the policies—one forest at a time.

Keep This Stock Ticker on Your Watchlist

They’re a private company, but Pacaso just reserved the Nasdaq ticker “$PCSO.”

No surprise the same firms that backed Uber, eBay, and Venmo already invested in Pacaso. What is unique is Pacaso is giving the same opportunity to everyday investors. And 10,000+ people have already joined them.

Created a former Zillow exec who sold his first venture for $120M, Pacaso brings co-ownership to the $1.3T vacation home industry.

They’ve generated $1B+ worth of luxury home transactions across 2,000+ owners. That’s good for more than $110M in gross profit since inception, including 41% YoY growth last year alone.

And you can join them today for just $2.90/share. But don’t wait too long. Invest in Pacaso before the opportunity ends September 18.

Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.

The Amazon rainforest—often dubbed “the lungs of the Earth”—sits mostly within Brazil. Yet less than 25% of this vital biome is federally protected, and land ownership here is a patchwork of indigenous reserves, ranchers, agribusinesses, and illegal squatters.

Recent government crackdowns have aimed to curb deforestation, but enforcement remains difficult across such vast terrain. Indigenous communities officially own 13% of Brazil's land, often acting as the last line of defense against logging and mining. Meanwhile, private conservation groups are stepping in, buying land to shield it from industrial use.

Surprising fact: Despite its environmental reputation, Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of wood pulp—a $10B+ industry heavily concentrated in just a few corporate hands.

The U.S. is one of the most forest-rich countries on Earth—but contrary to popular belief, most of its forests are privately owned. Nearly 60% of American forests are in the hands of individuals, families, and timber corporations, with public lands (national parks and forests) comprising the rest.

Some of the biggest players? Institutional investors and REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), who manage forestland like financial portfolios. Meanwhile, conservation easements and carbon offset markets are creating fresh incentives to preserve trees instead of cutting them.

Little-known insight: The largest private landowner in the U.S. is not a timber company—it’s billionaire John Malone, a media mogul who owns over 2.2 million acres, largely in Maine and New Mexico.

In Sweden 🇸🇪 and Finland 🇫🇮, over 50% of forests are privately owned—mostly by families. But here’s the twist: sustainable forestry is not just encouraged, it’s culturally embedded and legally mandated. Harvesting plans must be approved, replanting is required, and biodiversity is monitored closely.

Public trust is high, and the model works: both nations boast thriving forest economies while maintaining or even increasing total forest cover. Forest owners often belong to cooperatives that offer support, tools, and market access.

Fascinating detail: In Finland, one in five citizens owns forest land—a testament to how deeply forests are woven into private life, not just public policy.

In many African countries, legal forest ownership is murky at best. Customary land rights, colonial legacies, and poor enforcement have left vast tracts of forest under ambiguous control. This opens the door to illegal logging, land grabs, and conflicts.

Yet hope is growing. In places like 🇬🇭 Ghana and 🇹🇿 Tanzania, community forest management is gaining traction, empowering locals to sustainably manage and benefit from their forests. NGOs and startups are also investing in tree-planting and land-mapping tech to bring clarity to land tenure.

Did you know? An estimated 90% of Africa’s rural land is undocumented, making it one of the world’s riskiest frontiers for both conservation and development.

From Jeff Bezos to Mark Zuckerberg, the world’s wealthiest are snapping up forestland—not for timber, but for carbon credits, climate branding, and sometimes personal seclusion.

These purchases, while often marketed as "green stewardship," raise questions: Who gets displaced? What’s the accountability? And what happens when forests become asset classes?

On the flip side, billionaires have the capital to protect land at scale. Patagonia’s founder donated 2 million acres in 🇨🇱 Chile and 🇦🇷 Argentina for permanent conservation—a landmark act of private environmentalism.

Insight worth pondering: Land is now a hedge not just against inflation—but against environmental guilt and reputational risk.

Across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Canada 🇨🇦, Indigenous communities are emerging as key stewards of global forest health. Scientific studies repeatedly show that indigenous-managed forests have lower deforestation rates than state-managed or privately held lands.

Yet legal recognition remains patchy. In some countries, indigenous groups control vast lands without formal titles. In others, their ancestral lands are leased or sold off without consent.

Internationally, momentum is building: the U.N. now promotes “Tenure Rights Recognition” as a critical path to forest conservation.

Revealing stat: Indigenous peoples steward at least 36% of the world’s remaining intact forests—yet receive only a fraction of global conservation funding.

The future of forest ownership may look radically different. Remote sensing, drone surveillance, and blockchain-based land registries are redefining how forests are measured, monitored, and even traded.

Carbon credit markets are expanding fast, allowing private landowners to monetize “standing trees” by selling verified carbon offsets. But verification, equity, and accountability remain major concerns. Who ensures the credits are real? And are small landholders being left behind?

Meanwhile, data is power. Governments and companies alike are racing to map forest cover in real-time—turning trees into assets on digital ledgers.

Eye-opening projection: The global forest carbon credit market could surpass $250 billion by 2030—a financial forest growing faster than the real one.

Forests are more than scenery—they’re a battleground of values, incentives, and long-term survival. Whether you’re considering relocating, investing, or simply living more consciously, forest ownership matters.

From indigenous rights to billionaire buyouts, the forest is not just a place—it’s a proposition. One that involves climate, capital, and conscience. As global citizens, our future may depend on how well we understand and act upon that truth.

Stay rooted in knowledge—and curious about what grows from it.

Warm regards,

Shane Fulmer
Founder, WorldPopulationReview.com

P.S. Want to sponsor this newsletter? Reach 127,000+ global-minded readers — click here!