Archie Aldis Emmerson

Archie "Red" Aldis Emmerson is reportedly the largest private landowner in California and is regularly at odds with environmentalists over his corporation's (Sierra Pacific) policies promoting clearcut timber-cutting throughout Northern California. Along with his father, Emmerson has operated lumber mills since the 1940s. He took Sierra Pacific public 1969; got tired of answering to Wall Street, took private 5 years later. "Red" borrowed $460 million to buy 522,000 acres (2,112 km²) in 1988, making him among the nation's largest private landowners. He expanded into Washington state: built his 13th sawmill in Aberdeen. Two of his sons work in the business. Emmerson and his family contribute heavily to the Republican Party, Republican candidates, and to organizations that support large-scale and clearcut timber cutting on public and private lands. He is on the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.

*Net Worth: $2,500 mil
*Hometown: Redding, CA

External links

* [http://www.spi-ind.com/ Sierra Pafific Industries]
* [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/54/400list08_Archie-Aldis-Red-Emmerson_P38A.html Forbes profile]