How Disney managed to buy up Orlando
In the state of Florida, there is a statute for what is called the Florida land trust. This enables you to set up a trust, administered by a trustee. This trust can then be used to purchase land. On the public record, the only person mentioned as “owning” the property, is the trustee, though their powers are usually limited by the agreement that they have with the real owner, who is called the beneficiary of the trust. This agreement is not usually held on the public record, so the government and any other interested parties will not know who the true owner is. The agreement also usually binds the trustee to not revealing the identity of the beneficiary, or the real property owner. Even the courts cannot compel the trustee to reveal the owner, as the agreement between trustee and beneficiary is a legal contract that the courts cannot overturn, and that would include the privacy clause.
Walt Disney and his associated companies were able to buy land using Florida land trusts, so no one was able to trace the purchases back to him. This secrecy was essential for the following reasons:
1. it meant that buyers were unaware that there was someone with deep pockets and a goal of obtaining large contiguous tracts purchasing their land. If they had known that, then they would have held out for more, especially knowing that Disney may have really needed that last piece of land to complete his objectives.
2. if all the land is owned by one Disney entity or related entities, then those entities could control local government. For example the city of Lake Buena Vista, FL, is controlled by Disney, and the population of the city is about 15 people. You can bet that they are all Disney employees and if some sort of vote is needed, they are going to follow the company line.
Property investors in Florida should take advantage of the Florida Land Trust if possible, especially if they are renting homes. Having that layer of privacy may make it hard for a predatory attorney to uncover who the owner is, and what their worth is. That means that they may pass on a case rather than have to do lots of research and then maybe find that the owner is leveraged to the hilt on their vacation home.