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In recent years, the land issue in developing countries and countries in transition has tended to focus on international operators’ “land grabbing” of farmland. The role of national elites in the reconfiguration of agrarian structures remains often underestimated. This article sheds light on land acquisitions by the urban elites (“ cadres”) in Côte d’Ivoire, a very dynamic trend since the 2000s, mainly for creating rubber plantations. After discussing land acquisitions by national elites as a research topic, the paper identifies the actors and the transactions, pinpoints the tensions and conflicts induced by these land transfers and the securing strategies implemented by the cadres, and discusses the productive use of land acquired in this way. The analysis draws on data collected from 100 buyers and fifty-three sellers in 2013–2014.