You see that bright green tractor sitting in a field or parked at a suburban dealership, and you think of Iowa. You think of the American heartland. You think of John Deere himself, the blacksmith who hammered out a polished steel plow in 1837 because the sticky Illinois soil kept gunking up everyone else's cast-iron tools. But if you’re looking for a single person named "Deere" who calls the shots today, you’re about 150 years too late.
Who owns John Deere isn't a simple question of a family name on a deed. It's a massive, multi-layered puzzle of Wall Street giants, global pension funds, and the legendary "Oracle of Omaha" himself.
The company is actually called Deere & Company. It’s a publicly traded behemoth on the New York Stock Exchange, tucked under the ticker symbol DE. Basically, if you have a 401(k) or an index fund, there’s a decent chance you own a tiny sliver of a combine harvester. But while the "public" owns it, a few massive institutional players hold the real keys to the kingdom.
The Institutional Giants Pulling the Strings
When people ask who owns John Deere, they often expect to hear about a secretive billionaire. While there are some big individual names, the heavy lifting is done by institutional investors. These are firms that manage trillions of dollars for other people.
Currently, the largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group. As of the most recent SEC filings, they hold roughly 9% to 10% of the company. Vanguard is ubiquitous. They own a piece of almost everything. Following closely behind is BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager. Between these two, you have a massive chunk of the voting power. They aren't out there deciding which new transmission goes into the 8R series tractors, but they definitely care about the quarterly dividends and the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scores.
Then there is State Street Corporation. They usually round out the "Big Three" of index fund providers. These firms don't "run" Deere in the traditional sense. They are passive owners. They want steady growth and reliable payouts. If Deere's board of directors starts making wild, risky bets that threaten the stock price, these are the guys who pick up the phone.
The Bill Gates Connection
This is where things get interesting for the "celeb" hunters. For a long time, Bill Gates was one of the most significant individual landowners and, by extension, a massive shareholder in Deere & Company. He did this through Cascade Investment L.L.C., his private investment vehicle.
Why would a tech guy care about tractors?
It’s about "smart" farming. Deere has pivoted hard into technology—GPS, autonomous driving, and data analytics. Gates saw the value in that transition years ago. However, it's worth noting that Cascade has trimmed its position over the last couple of years. He’s still a major player, but he isn't the majority owner. Nobody is. That's the nature of a company with a market cap hovering around $110 billion to $130 billion.
Is John Deere Still an American Company?
You’ll hear rumors at the local diner. "Oh, the Chinese bought Deere," or "It’s owned by a German conglomerate now."
Nope.
Deere & Company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois. It has been there since 1848. While its shareholders are global—because anyone with a brokerage account in Tokyo or London can buy DE stock—it remains an American corporation.
However, its operations are undeniably global. They have massive factories in Mannheim, Germany; Horizontina, Brazil; and Pune, India. This global footprint often confuses people into thinking the ownership has shifted overseas. It hasn’t. The profits still flow back to the headquarters in Moline and into the pockets of those predominantly American institutional investors.
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The Role of the Board and John May
Since there isn't a "King Deere" anymore, the company is run by a Board of Directors. The man currently at the helm is John C. May. He’s the Chairman and CEO.
May is a "Deere lifer." He didn't just drop in from a tech startup or a hedge fund. He’s been with the company since the late 90s. This is typical for Deere. They tend to promote from within, maintaining a corporate culture that feels very "Midwest" even though they are a global powerhouse. When you look at who owns John Deere from a functional perspective, May and his executive team are the ones steering the ship, even if they only own a fraction of a percent of the actual stock.
The Misconception About "Independent" Dealers
One thing that confuses regular folks is the dealership. You see "Smith & Sons John Deere" down the road. You might think Smith owns that part of John Deere.
Actually, Deere & Company operates on a franchised dealership model, much like car companies. The corporate entity in Moline owns the brand, the patents, and the factories. The local dealer is usually an independent business—though these "mom and pop" shops are rapidly being bought up by massive dealer groups like RDO Equipment or United Ag & Turf.
So, while Deere & Company owns the intellectual property and the manufacturing, they don't necessarily own the building where you buy your riding mower. It's a symbiotic relationship, but a distinct one.
The Shift Toward "Big Tech" Ownership
Lately, the conversation about who owns John Deere has taken a weird turn into the world of software.
This is the "Right to Repair" controversy. Critics argue that by locking tractor software behind proprietary codes, Deere effectively "owns" the machine even after a farmer buys it. If you can't fix your own tractor because you don't own the software license, do you really own the tractor?
This has led to legal battles and a lot of friction with the American Farm Bureau Federation. While the investors own the stock, the company is trying to maintain a type of "ownership" over the digital heart of the machines. It’s a fundamental shift from the days when John Deere just sold you a piece of steel and wished you luck.
Breaking Down the Shareholder Tiers
If we look at the breakdown, it's roughly:
- Institutional Investors: ~75-80% (Vanguard, BlackRock, JPMorgan, etc.)
- Mutual Funds: ~10-15%
- Individual Insiders: <1% (CEOs, Board members)
- Retail Investors: The rest (people like you and me)
It’s a "widows and orphans" stock. That’s a finance term for a stock that is so stable and pays such a reliable dividend that it's considered a safe bet for people who can't afford to lose money.
Why the Ownership Structure Matters to Farmers
You might think, "Who cares if Vanguard owns 9%?"
Farmers care. Institutional ownership means the company is under constant pressure to deliver "Shareholder Value." Sometimes, what's good for a hedge fund in Manhattan isn't what's good for a corn farmer in Nebraska. Shareholder pressure can lead to cost-cutting, price hikes on parts, or a focus on high-margin autonomous tech over simple, affordable machinery.
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On the flip side, that massive influx of capital from Wall Street is what allows Deere to spend billions on R&D. They are currently leading the world in agricultural AI. That doesn't happen on a blacksmith's budget.
What Most People Get Wrong About the "Deere Family"
Is there anyone left from the original family?
Yes, descendants of John Deere still exist. They are around. But they aren't running the company. They don't have a "golden share" that lets them veto decisions. Over the generations, the family's massive stake was diluted as the company issued more stock to grow. By the mid-20th century, the transition from a family business to a corporate institution was basically complete.
The last "family" member to have a major hand in things was William Hewitt, who was married into the family and served as CEO until the early 80s. He was the one who really pushed Deere to go global. After he retired, the family’s direct influence on daily operations effectively evaporated.
The Bottom Line on John Deere's Ownership
At the end of the day, John Deere is owned by the global financial system. It is a masterpiece of American capitalism—a company that started with one man's idea and grew so large that no one person could ever truly own it again.
If you want to know who is in charge of the company's future, look at the 13F filings of the big investment firms. If you want to know who is in charge of the company's spirit, you look at the engineers in Moline. And if you want to know who keeps the company in business, you look at the farmers who continue to pay a premium for that specific shade of green.
Actionable Insights for Interested Parties:
- For Investors: Keep a close eye on the quarterly 13F filings for Deere & Company (DE). Any major sell-off by Vanguard or BlackRock usually signals a shift in institutional sentiment regarding the agricultural sector.
- For Farmers: Understand that "ownership" is becoming digital. Review the terms of the End User License Agreement (EULA) when purchasing new equipment, as the company’s ownership of the software impacts your ability to modify or repair the machine.
- For Researchers: If you are tracking the "Bill Gates land/ag" narrative, remember to distinguish between his ownership of physical farmland (via Cottonwood Ag Management) and his equity stake in Deere & Company (via Cascade). They are related strategies but managed separately.
- For Consumers: Buying a John Deere hat or a lawnmower supports a publicly traded US corporation. If you are looking to support "local," focus on the dealership, as those are often the family-owned pillars of the community, even if the brand they sell is a global titan.
Ownership is no longer about a name on the door. It’s about who holds the shares, who writes the code, and who has the right to turn the wrench. In 2026, John Deere is a tech company that happens to build very heavy, very expensive, very green hardware.
The blacksmith from 1837 wouldn't recognize the boardroom, but he’d definitely recognize the grit it takes to stay at the top of the mountain for nearly two centuries.