Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard Is the Anti-Trump
A rock climber who founded the outdoor clothing brand Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard has given the company away after nearly 50 years at the helm.
And the beneficiary isn’t family — his wife and two adult children gave up their ownership rights as well. Instead, Chouinard established a special trust and nonprofit organization that preserves the company’s independence while donating all the profits — roughly $100 million a year — to address the climate crisis and protect wild lands around the globe.“Hopefully this will influence a new form of capitalism that doesn’t end up with a few rich people and a bunch of poor people,” Mr.
Chouinard, 83, told the The New York Times, which reports that the gift (valued at around $3 billion) will not be tax deductible — making the Chouinards among the most charitable families in the country.Chouinard founded Patagonia in 1973 and it became one of the first companies to insist on organic cotton, offer on-site childcare, and donate a percentage of all sales to charity.