Did you Know the Owner That Just Donated the Entire Patagonia Company was a Mainer?
Patagonia Owner Was Born in Maine
Before I even get into the good stuff, did you know the owner of Patagonia is from Maine?!
You truly learn something new every day and this was a big one for me today. I guess it does make sense that a company dedicated to outdoor activities would be from the Pine Tree State. Sort of reminds me of another big company here in Maine that sells outdoor gear…
I’ll let you figure that one out.
Anyway, the owner of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, was born in Lewiston and raised in Lisbon, Maine before moving across the country with his family to California.
The Earth-lover started his philanthropic company 50 years ago and is now donating it to serve its ultimate purpose: protecting wild land and biodiversity and fighting the climate crisis.
Patagonia Owner Donates $3 Billion Company
As shared by CNBC, Chouinard is giving away his ownership and dedicating all profits from the company to projects and organizations that will protect our planet. The company expects to contribute around $100 million every single year to fight climate change.
To Chouinard, this is an effort to reimagine capitalism.
The Patagonia website explains the rest:
“Here’s how it works: 100% of the company’s voting stock transfers to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, created to protect the company’s values; and 100% of nonvoting stock had been given to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting the environmental crisis and defending nature. The funding will come from Patagonia: Each year, the money we make after reinvesting the business will be distributed as a dividend to help fight the crisis.”
My favorite quote, though, is this simple statement:
“Earth is now our only shareholder.”
This was beautiful news to see on the feed and it was an added treat to learn that the owner of Patagonia is a fellow Mainer. His hope is to influence and inspire others to reimagine capitalism and help take care of our planet.
The best way to change the system is not to wait for it to happen, but to make these big moves yourself.