I fail to understand how your quote doesn't describe land lords? It is: 1. An act of growing one's own wealth (no other purpose to land lording) 2. It is accomplished by taking advantage of economic conditions (perhaps not "manipulating") 3. Does not create any new wealth.

And a little further down is this: > Rent-seeking implies the extraction of uncompensated value from others without making any contribution to productivity.

Which to me certainly sounds like someone who's only contribution is ownership.