When the billionaire media executive John C. Malone bought a million acres of Maine forestland in 2011, assuming the mantle of America’s top landowner from his friend and fellow mogul Ted Turner, he made no triumphant announcement. Instead, he shielded his identity through a shell company.

Now, as Mr. Malone tries to pull off the biggest land grab of his career, he is once again avoiding the limelight.

When Charter Communications announced the acquisitions of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks on Tuesday, its news release did not mention Mr. Malone’s name. He was not on the investor call. He declined to comment for this article.

Yet there is little doubt that Mr. Malone is behind the scenes, orchestrating an upheaval of the industry he helped create two decades ago.