Yvon Chouinard, who started Patagonia, has given his company to a non-profit group to help fight climate change, here’s how much money the businessman will have in 2022 and his net worth
Instead of selling the $1 billion company, Yvon Chouinard, his wife Malinda Pennoyer, and their children Claire and Fletcher gave their shares to a trust called the Patagonia Purpose Trust and a group called the Holdfast Collective.
Founder Of Patagonia Yvon Chouinard Age, Wife And Net Worth In 2022 As He Gives Away Company To Fight Climate Change
The New York Times says that the total value of what the family owns is $3 billion. Patagonia will still be in business, but the money it makes will now be used to fight climate change and protect undeveloped land all over the world.
“Despite its immensity, the Earth’s resources are not infinite, and it’s clear we’ve exceeded its limits. But it’s also resilient. We can save our planet if we commit to it,” Yvon Chouinard said in his statement.
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and his family are transferring ownership of the multibillion-dollar company to a trust and an environmental nonprofit. The move aims to protect and maintain the company's environmentalist values.
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— NewsNation (@NewsNation) September 15, 2022
The Huge Net Worth of Yvon Chouinard
In 2022, Yvon, who started Patagonia, is worth $100 million, according to the Celebrity Net Worth portal. People have said that Yvon, who loves to climb rocks, is the most “reluctant” billionaire in the world. The 83-year-old man from Lewiston, Maine, began rock climbing when he was 14 years old.
Celebrity Net Worth says that Yvon became a self-taught blacksmith and started making his own climbing tools in 1957. Soon, many of his friends started paying $1.50 each for his reusable climbing gear. This gave Yvon the idea for his business, Chouinard Equipment, Ltd.
In 1972, Chouinard Equipment, Ltd. started selling rugby shirts, and a year later, he opened the first Patagonia store in Ventura, California, called Great Pacific Iron Works. The New York Times says that Patagonia now makes about $100 million a year.
When Yvon’s business started to grow, he wanted to make it a great place to work. To do this, he opened a cafeteria with healthy food right at the office. In 1984, Patagonia started having on-site child care. In 1996, the company switched to using only organic cotton to have less of an impact on the environment.
The Founder Of Patagonia Gives Away The Company To Fight Climate Change!
Yvon Chouinard said he had thought about selling Patagonia and giving the money from the sale to charity. He said that he had also thought about going public with the company. In the end, he decided not to do either.
Both of these choices, though, would mean losing control of the business. “Even public companies with good intentions are under too much pressure to make short-term profits at the expense of long-term vitality and responsibility,” he has reflected.
Being On Forbes’ Billionaire List Annoyed Yvon Chouinard
Yvon told the New York Times that he hopes his choice will lead to a new kind of capitalism. In an exclusive interview, he said, “I hope this will lead to a new kind of capitalism that doesn’t leave a few rich people and a lot of poor people.”
Ryan Gellert, Yvon Chouinard’s adviser, said this about why he didn’t leave the company to his children, Fletcher and Claire: “It was important to them that they not be seen as the financial beneficiaries.”