"Wealthy American buys large swaths of land and donates them for preservation" is a model that happens in the United States even today, actually! And... it can

"Wealthy American buys large swaths of land and donates them for preservation" is a model that happens in the United States even today, actually! And... it can be controversial, as you suggest. One recent example I can think of in the United States is Katahdin Woods in Maine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katahdin_Woods_and_Waters_National_Monument https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katahdin_Woods_and_Waters_Nati...) which was created using land bought by one of the founders of Burt's Bees. Usually the controversy is some combination of access, employment opportunities, and fear of "outsiders" meddling. From my perspective, at least regarding American land and access issues, this sort of situation is quite a bit better than "wealthy person buys large swaths of land and uses it as a private playground for himself or herself", which also happens a fair bit. The United States in general does not have a "freedom to roam" concept so even simply hiking on private land can be problematic. Let alone other recreational activities. The best way of ensuring people have access to outdoor recreational activities is exactly through the establishment of these sort of places. The employment / business aspect is another story and can be trickier to balance sometimes.