One of the prominent ranchers in America, Ladd Drummond, was born into a well-known ranching family starting from his great-great-grandfather, Ronald Thacker Drummond. Ronald emigrated from Scotland to the United States, where he eventually set up the family ranching business, which has lasted for over 100 years.
Popularly known as Marlboro Man, Ladd has made a name for himself as a co-owner of one of the most thriving ranches in America. Drummond’s success is due in no small part to his hard work and legacy. Having The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond as his life partner has certainly not hurt his chances either.
Ladd and Ree Drummond are College Graduates
The successful rancher was born in Nebraska, the United States, on January 22, 1969. His parents are Chuck and late Nan Olsen Drummond. He was brought up together with his two brothers, Todd and Tim, in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Sadly, Todd’s eldest brother died in a car accident at the age of 18.
His family previously settled in the urban area of Oklahoma before they relocated to their ranch in Osage County, Oklahoma, following his father’s completion of his education.
Ladd Drummond was introduced to the ranch lifestyle at a very young age, as he was often assigned to work on the ranch. As a result of this, he got familiar with the works carried out on the ranch, including driving of trucks, operating machines, and customary manual labor.
Regarding education, Ladd comes from a line of literates. His great-grandfather is a graduate of Harvard Business School while his grandfather graduated from Stanford University. The prominent American businessman himself graduated from Pawhuska High School and later furthered his education at Arizona State University.
His wife Ree Drummond, on the other hand, as you probably already know was born barely two weeks before her husband on January 6, 1969.
After graduating from her hometown Bartlesville High School in 1987, she proceeded to the University of Southern California, Los Angeles to study journalism. However, she later switched her major to Gerontology and graduated in 1991.
During her college days, she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, and though she planned to proceed to law school in Chicago after graduation, things changed when she met Ladd.
Ladd and Ree Have Both Been Honored in Their Respective Fields
Ladd does not just dress as a cowboy, but he is one in every sense of the word. He runs the Drummond Land & Cattle company together with his father, Chuck Drummond, and brother, Tim. His cousin Thatcher Drummond is also an associate partner of the company. There on the Drummond Ranch, the notable rancher breeds thousands of herds of cattle and horses.
Ladd Drummond also trains Quarter horses, which participate in horse competitions across America. As a result of his expertise, the Drummond Land & Cattle Company emerged as the winner of the 2011 Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association Range Championship. Ladd Drummond was also given an honorary cowboy title of ‘The Tough Hand’ during the same competition.
However, he isn’t the only honoured member of the Drummond Family. Ree’s blog, initially titled Confessions of a Pioneer Woman won multiple Bloggies for four consecutive years between 2007-2010. The last two times in 2009 and 2010, the blog took home Weblog of the Year Award, the Bloggies top prize, among its other wins.
Her show, The Pioneer Woman, has also scored multiple recognitions including the Telly Awards, New York Festivals, and an Emmy Nomination between 2017 and 2019.
How The Cowboy Met and Married Ree
The co-owner of Drummond Ranch met his wife, Ree Drummond, for the first time in a country bar in Oklahoma. Ree, a native of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, was in town from Los Angeles at the time when she saw and was immediately attracted to a Marlboro Man–looking Ladd.
The two got talking, and even though they felt a connection during their first conversation, the couple didn’t start dating until four months later. They were a classic example of a young country love story. On September 21, 1996, they made it official by tying the knot in an episcopal church wedding ceremony.
Ladd Drummond is a huge fan of his alma mater football team, Sun Devils. Surprisingly, his love for the team made him abandon his wedding reception to watch a football game between Arizona State University and Nebraska. A memory he and his wife still remember fondly.
The successful businessman has welcomed four lovely children together with his wife. They are two sons named Bryce and Todd, and two daughters, Alex and Paige.
Their eldest child Alex (Born in 1997), is a graduate of Texas A&M University and is engaged to her college boyfriend, Mauricio Scott. Their second child, Paige (b. 1999), attends the University of Arkansas. The boys Bryce and Todd were born in 2002 and 2004, respectively.
How Ladd and Ree Manage to Do It All
Ladd Drummond’s wife is the founder of ‘The Pioneer Woman’ brand, which began as a blog for documenting her family life at the ranch but has metamorphosed into an empire. Her husband’s popular nickname ‘the Marlboro Man’ originated from her calling him that on her blog.
While she still keeps her now mega-successful blog running, Ree Drummond is now also an author, food writer, and photographer. She has written multiple books on cooking and lifestyle, including her memoir Black Heels to Tractor Wheels.
Ree is also a renowned television host, thanks to her eponymous Food Network cooking show The Pioneer Woman. It began airing in 2011 and is one of the highest-rated on the network.
Ree and her husband, Ladd, have a hotel in Oklahoma called the Boarding House. The lady also owns The Pioneer Woman Magazine, runs the Mercantile, and has a line of home goods at Walmart, on top of all that, the proud mother of four is also a homemaker.
When asked how her family manages to keep it together, Ree Drummond opened up to Us Weekly in an interview that balance is, in fact, something she still strives for. The culinary mogul does her part by waking up early and being where she is needed. This can range at any point between shooting her show, managing her empire, cooking for the guys on the ranch, and other responsibilities.
With the help of their employees, her husband, Ladd, focuses on the ‘hard’ work on the ranch, while their children play their part by getting involved when they are needed.
Amid the hustle and bustle, Ladd and Ree never miss spending quality time with each other even if it’s as little as unwinding together on the couch after a busy day. They also keep the flame burning with romantic date nights at Tulsa when they are not going for drives together.
Ladd and Ree Have a Quarter Billion Dollars in Combined Net Worth
The Drummond Land & Cattle Company was rated in 2016 as the 23rd largest land in America, having about 433,000 acres that cover more than 675 square miles. As one of its owners, Ladd Drummond has amassed enormous wealth from his thriving ranching business.
According to Daily Mail, the family-held company made about $24 million just from renting land to the US government over the past decade. Being one of the most successful cattle ranchers in America, Ladd is living a luxury lifestyle and has a jaw-dropping net worth of about $200 million.
In addition to running a huge ranching business, the Drummond family also has in their possession, a 100-year-old building located in the downtown area of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, which they acquired in 2012. Ladd and his wife, however, moved on to refurbish the old building into a well-known restaurant and retail store called The Mercantile. It has become one of the many arms of the Pioneer Woman brand.
Speaking of the brand, Ree Drummond has made more than just a name out of The Pioneer Woman. According to Celebrity’s Net Worth, she is worth $50 million as of 2020. An amount over 500% more than the $8 million AOL.com had her down for in 2017.
