NEW YORK - A half-century after founding outdoor apparel maker Patagonia, Mr Yvon Chouinard, the eccentric rock climber who became a reluctant billionaire with his unconventional spin on capitalism, has given the company away.
At the same time, Mr Chouinard's relinquishment of the family fortune is in keeping with his long-standing disregard for business norms and his lifelong love for the environment. The trust, which will be overseen by members of the family and their closest advisers, is intended to ensure that Patagonia makes good on its commitment to run a socially responsible business and give away its profits.
"There was a meaningful cost to them doing it, but it was cost they were willing to bear to ensure that this company stays true to their principles," said Mr Dan Mosley, a partner at BDT & Co, a merchant bank that works with ultra wealthy individuals including Mr Warren Buffett, and who helped Patagonia design the new structure."And they didn't get a charitable deduction for it. There is no tax benefit here whatsoever.
"I didn't know what to do with the company because I didn't ever want a company," he said from his home in Jackson, Wyoming."I didn't want to be a businessman. Now I could die tomorrow and the company is going to continue doing the right thing for the next 50 years, and I don't have to be around."Stickers advocating protecting Bears Ears National Monument, which Patagonia sued the Trump administration in a bid to protect.
The company has given away 1 per cent of its sales for decades, mostly to grassroots environmental activists. And in recent years, the company has become more politically active, going so far as to sue the Trump administration in a bid to protect Bears Ears National Monument. In mid-2020, Mr Chouinard began telling his closest advisers, including Mr Ryan Gellert, the company's CEO, that if they couldn't find a good alternative, he was prepared to sell the company.
straits_times At the same time Chine built another coal fired power station