{"id":2668,"date":"2026-07-10T00:12:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T19:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=2668"},"modified":"2026-07-10T00:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T19:12:28","slug":"patagonias-founder-gives-away-company-to-help-combat-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=2668","title":{"rendered":"Patagonia&#8217;s founder gives away company to help combat climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-adroot=\"true\">\n<p>Patagonia founder and reluctant billionaire Yvon Chouinard is relinquishing his company for the greater good. There\u2019s no scandal, no hidden agenda, and certainly no loss of profit. The company announced new leadership will be held by a trust and a group of nonprofit organizations, and all profits will be donated toward climate change initiatives. <\/p>\n<p>Chouinard, who turns 84 this year, said giving away the company was the best way to ensure <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inputmag.com\/culture\/how-to-watch-patagonias-public-trust-documentary\" class=\"T3D\">its values<\/a> would remain intact and money would be invested in the cause. Patagonia\u2019s stock will be owned by the climate-focused Patagonia Purpose Trust and nonprofit Holdfast Collective. \u201cEvery dollar that is not reinvested back into Patagonia will be distributed as dividends to protect the planet,\u201d the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The Holdfast Collective will hold 98 percent of the company, which accounts for the non-voting stock. The other 2 percent (the voting stock) will be used by the Trust to create a \u201cpermanent legal structure to enshrine Patagonia\u2019s purpose and values\u201d overseen by family members and close advisors. If business continues as usual, an estimated $100 million per year will be donated to fight climate change. <\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:66.6667%;\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/6bc84a12-433f-4a2d-80c5-390d6f1ed48c-getty-1350072168.jpg?w=349&amp;h=233&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/6bc84a12-433f-4a2d-80c5-390d6f1ed48c-getty-1350072168.jpg?w=349&amp;h=233&amp;fit=max 349w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/6bc84a12-433f-4a2d-80c5-390d6f1ed48c-getty-1350072168.jpg?w=349&amp;h=233&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2 698w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/6bc84a12-433f-4a2d-80c5-390d6f1ed48c-getty-1350072168.jpg?w=710&amp;h=473&amp;fit=max 710w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/6bc84a12-433f-4a2d-80c5-390d6f1ed48c-getty-1350072168.jpg?w=710&amp;h=473&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2 1420w\" sizes=\"(min-width:768px) 710px, 349px\" alt=\"CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 29: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Patagonia store on October 29, ...\" class=\"uMj EdX\"\/><\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"TrI\">Patagonia guarantees circularity with sustainable, long-lasting products and affordable repairs. <cite class=\"hW6\">Scott Olson\/Getty Images News\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><u>Saying bye to the billions \u2014<\/u> Although Patagonia has become globally synonymous with sustainable outdoor apparel, Chouinard realized his company was contributing to waste, not fighting it. One option was to go public, but \u201cwhat a disaster that would have been,\u201d he said in a statement. <\/p>\n<p>The other option was to sell the company and donate the money, but there was no way to guarantee the new owner would hold onto Patagonia\u2019s values and employee respect. Not even Chouinard\u2019s children wanted to inherit the company because \u201cthey embody this notion that every billionaire is a policy failure,\u201d Chouinard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/09\/14\/climate\/patagonia-climate-philanthropy-chouinard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">told<\/a> <em>The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Patagonia\u2019s revenue amounts to about $1 billion annually, and the company\u2019s worth stands at about $3 billion. Because the funds were given to a trust, the family will have to pay about $17 million in taxes for the gift and will receive no tax benefit for the Holdfast Collective donation. Chouinard\u2019s net worth rings in at about $1.2 billion, much to his dismay. He never wanted to be a businessman and was \u201cpissed off\u201d about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/profile\/yvon-chouinard\/?sh=7066f2c24fb5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">being called a billionaire<\/a> in <em>Forbes<\/em>. <\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:150%;\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/aa66906d-3d10-430c-b52f-4d40b28c83ab-getty-564061785.jpg?w=349&amp;h=524&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/aa66906d-3d10-430c-b52f-4d40b28c83ab-getty-564061785.jpg?w=349&amp;h=524&amp;fit=max 349w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/aa66906d-3d10-430c-b52f-4d40b28c83ab-getty-564061785.jpg?w=349&amp;h=524&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2 698w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/aa66906d-3d10-430c-b52f-4d40b28c83ab-getty-564061785.jpg?w=710&amp;h=1065&amp;fit=max 710w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/aa66906d-3d10-430c-b52f-4d40b28c83ab-getty-564061785.jpg?w=710&amp;h=1065&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2 1420w\" sizes=\"(min-width:768px) 710px, 349px\" alt=\"VENTURA, CA. Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia founder\/owner, photographed in the tin shed, the original Cho...\" class=\"uMj EdX\"\/><\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"TrI\"><cite class=\"hW6\">Al Seib\/Los Angeles Times\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><u>What comes next \u2014<\/u> From living in his car and eating cat food in the \u201860s to becoming a billionaire, Chouinard\u2019s core values haven\u2019t changed. And he believes Patagonia\u2019s shouldn\u2019t either once he\u2019s gone. &#8220;Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source,\u201d reads the company\u2019s statement. \u201cWe&#8217;re making Earth our only shareholder. I am dead serious about saving this planet.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Patagonia will continue to give 1 percent of its earnings to grassroots environmentalist organizations. The Holdfast Collective will also have the liberty to lobby and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inputmag.com\/style\/patagonia-1-million-donation-georgia-voter-suppression-bill\" class=\"T3D\">donate to advocacy groups<\/a>, carrying on the company\u2019s legacy. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"fX2 rhF jIS\"\/><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Patagonia founder and reluctant billionaire Yvon Chouinard is relinquishing his company for the greater good. There\u2019s no scandal, no hidden agenda, and certainly no loss of profit. The company announced new leadership will be held by a trust and a group of nonprofit organizations, and all profits will be donated toward climate change initiatives. Chouinard,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/39b94a62-c927-4531-b6ac-57367fc70548-getty-1423758111.jpg?w=1200&h=630&fit=crop&crop=faces&fm=jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}