- Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, along with his wife and two grown children, are donating their shares of the clothing company they founded more than 50 years ago.
- The collective that will hold the company’s non-voting stock, valued at close to $3 billion, will utilize all proceeds that aren’t reinvested in the company to combat climate change.
- Depending on how well the company does, it plans to give roughly $100 million annually.
Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, along with his wife and two grown children, is donating their ownership in the clothing company he founded more than 50 years ago and pledging to donate all company profits to initiatives and groups that will protect wild land and biodiversity and work to address the climate crisis.
The New York Times estimates the company’s worth at $3 billion.
Chouinard spoke about “reimagining capitalism” in a letter announcing the decision that was posted on the Patagonia website on Wednesday.
The Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective, two nonprofit organizations focused on addressing climate change, will now own the privately held company’s stock, the company said in a statement, adding that “every dollar that is not reinvested back into Patagonia will be distributed as dividends to protect the planet.”
All of the voting stock, or 2% of the total, will go to the trust, which will use it to establish a “more permanent legal structure to codify Patagonia’s purpose and ideals.” Family members and trusted advisors will supervise it.
Hey, friends, we just gave our company to planet Earth. OK, it’s more nuanced than that, but we’re closed today to celebrate this new plan to save our one and only home. We’ll be back online tomorrow.https://t.co/fvRFDgOzVZ
— Patagonia (@patagonia) September 14, 2022
98% of Patagonia’s non-voting stock is owned by The Holdfast Collective.
Depending on the success of the business, Patagonia anticipates producing and donating roughly $100 million annually. The business now offers new and pre-owned outdoor clothing, equipment for outdoor pursuits including camping, fishing, and climbing, as well as food and drinks derived from sustainable sources.
Patagonia already gave one percent of its annual sales to grassroots organizers as a recognized B-Corp and California Benefit Corporation, and it plans to continue doing so. Less than 6,000 enterprises worldwide have received the B-Corp certification. To be certified, they must adhere to rigid environmental, social, and governance requirements and benchmarks established by B Labs.
After the clothing company’s increased charitable strategy, Ryan Gellert will continue to lead Patagonia as CEO, and the Chouinard family will stay on the board. The business informed its staff about this decision on Wednesday, and on Thursday it changed its website to reflect that “Earth is now our lone shareholder.”
FAQs
What amount did Patagonia give?
“Earth Is Now Our Only Shareholder,” Patagonia, Inc. CNBC. The $3 billion company owned by the founder of Patagonia has just been donated to combat climate change.
Did Patagonia sell its business?
After almost 50 years, the creator of Patagonia is transferring ownership of the business onto two businesses that will aid in the fight against the climate problem. Patagonia is a privately held business with headquarters in Ventura, California, that sells outdoor gear and clothing. In 1973, Yvon Chouinard established the business.
What is Yvon Chouinard’s market value?
120 billion USD (2022)
Net wealth of Yvon Chouinard
Chouinard, whose alpine climbs in Yosemite National Park made him renowned and who has a net worth of $1.2 billion, is transferring his family’s ownership of the business to a trust and a non-profit organization rather than selling the company or going public.
Where does the money from Patagonia go?
The two organizations will make sure that all of Patagonia’s profits are used to fight global warming and preserve undeveloped territory, the firm said on Wednesday.
Who is Patagonia’s owner?
What will happen to Patagonia now that its founder, Yvon Chouinard, handed it away? “There were no viable options, so we built our own,” he said. Twenty years before giving the whole ownership of the business to a nonprofit organization, Yvon Chouinard posed in front of a Patagonia store in 1993. Now, Earth is the lone shareholder.