That specific claim, while widely shared in viral social media posts, is an exaggeration that does not align with verified facts.
Here’s what actually happened, based on reliable reporting: In the early 2000s, Jolie bought a modest personal plot of land—initially around 7.5 hectares (about 18.5 acres)—in Cambodia’s Battambang province near the Samlout area.
She built a home there and used the site as headquarters for the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation (MJP), named after her eldest son, whom she adopted from Cambodia in 2002.
The foundation, funded largely by Jolie herself (with an early pledge of about $5 million), has supported community development, demining, reforestation, education, and wildlife conservation efforts in partnership with the Cambodian government.
The Samlout region includes protected forest areas totaling tens of thousands of hectares under government management, where MJP has helped fund anti-poaching patrols, ranger programs (sometimes involving former local hunters), and habitat protection for species like Asian elephants, bears, and tigers.
Jolie’s work has benefited thousands of villagers through sustainable agriculture and jobs, turning conservation into a community-led effort rather than simply “buying” vast wilderness outright.
The 60,000-hectare (roughly 148,000-acre) figure circulating online appears to stem from conflating the foundation’s supported conservation zone with a personal purchase.
No credible records show Jolie buying that scale of land herself; early news reports focused on her smaller land acquisition and philanthropic pledge.
Cambodian citizenship in 2005 and ongoing foundation work—have been genuinely impactful for wildlife and local communities.