Direct answer: As of 2025, the largest landowners in the world are led by monarchic and religious institutions, with the British Crown (King Charles III and the Royal Family) commonly cited as owning the most land globally, followed by the Catholic Church; other major holders include large private entities and Indigenous lands in various regions, but precise totals vary by source and methodology.

Details and caveats:

• The British Crown and the Royal Family are frequently listed as owning tens of billions of acres when considering global holdings, including territories and land managed through various trust arrangements. The figure often cited is around 6.6 billion acres, though exact accounting depends on how lands are held (sovereign, crown rental, trusts, overseas territories).

• The Catholic Church is regularly noted as a major landowner with hundreds of millions of acres worldwide, encompassing church properties, schools, agricultural land, and other holdings. Estimates commonly place this in the low hundreds of millions of acres.

• Indigenous lands, such as Nunavut in Canada, are frequently highlighted when discussing large-scale land claims or territorial ownership, though governance structures mean land is owned/managed through agreements with governments. Nunavut's land area is about 87 million acres in the Canadian context.

• For context in the United States, government ownership is the largest single owner domestically, with hundreds of millions of acres held by federal and state governments; private individuals and families also own large tracts, but totals are separate from sovereign or religious land ownership.

Notes:

• Estimates vary widely because “ownership” can include sovereign title, trust lands, unalienable rights, or long-term leases; some sources include overseas territories and ceremonial holdings, which inflates totals compared to domestic land registries.

• If you’d like, I can compile a side-by-side comparison from several reputable sources and break down how each defines ownership and what land area is included.