The billionaire founder of American clothing brand Patagonia has given away his £2.6bn empire in a bid to tackle climate change. Yvon Chouinard, his wife and two adult children have transferred their ownership of the company to a tailored not for profit organisation.
The 83-year-old created the arrangement to keep his firm’s independence. He said it would also ensure all of its profits - some £87 million a year - are used to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the globe.
The privately-held company’s stock will now be owned by a climate-focused trust and group of nonprofit organisations, the Mirror reports. They are called the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective respectively, the company said in a statement.
It added that “every dollar that is not reinvested back into Patagonia will be distributed as dividends to protect the planet.”
Chouinard, an eccentric rock climber who became a reluctant billionaire known for his his unconventional spin on capitalism, founded Patagonia in 1973. He began selling hand-forged mountain climbing gear in 1957.
In a letter about the decision, published on the Patagonia website, he wrote of “reimagining capitalism”. He said: “While we’re doing our best to address the environmental crisis, it’s not enough. We needed to find a way to put more money into fighting the crisis while keeping the company’s values intact.
“One option was to sell Patagonia and donate all the money. But we couldn’t be sure a new owner would maintain our values or keep our team of people around the world employed. Another path was to take the company public.
“What a disaster that would have been. Even public companies with good intentions are under too much pressure to create short-term gain at the expense of long-term vitality and responsibility. Truth be told, there were no good options available. So, we created our own."
