CEO buys nearly 2,000 acres

Just more than six months after purchasing a private island for $14.5 million, Manatee County entrepreneur Mark Pentecost has bought more land.

Pentecost purchased 1,955 acres of agricultural land for more than $6.8 million in a deal that closed Jan. 15, according to Manatee County records. The property is at 10280 Curtis Road, Myakka City, records show.

Pentecost is the founder and CEO of Palmetto-based It Works Global, a multi-level marketing firm that had $538 million in sales in 2014. The firm sells a line of skincare and nutrition products. Pentecost, Entrepreneur of the Year in the Business Observer in 2013, moved the company from Grand Rapids, Mich. to Manatee County in 2011.