VENTURA, CALIFORNIA — Mr Yvon Chouinard, the billionaire founder of the outdoor apparel brand Patagonia, said on Wednesday he is giving away the company to a trust that will use its profit to fight the climate crisis.
"Each year, the money we make after reinvesting in the business will be distributed as a dividend to help fight the crisis," he wrote in an open letter on the company's website on Wednesday. Patagonia will continue to operate as a private, for-profit corporation but the Chouinard family, which controlled the company until last month, no longer own the company, according to the New York Times, which reported the move earlier on Wednesday.