For many business leaders, joining the billionaires club is the final emblem of success – which highlights them between the ranks of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.
However, to IPhone ChuenardFounder of the outer clothing company PatagoniaThe distinction between him was a member of The Ultrawealthy was “one of his worst days.”
He said when he was placed Forbes 2017 billionaire menu, according to Excerpts from Dirtbag billionaire: How IPhone Chuenard built Patagonia, raised a fortune, gave him everything away Written by David Jill.
“I don’t have a billion dollars in the bank. You know, I don’t drive a Lexus.”
Chuenard, a lifeline for life, spent years sleeping in his car or on dirt floors in the wild, surviving only one dollar per day, and even eating cans of cat food. This amazing existence makes billionaire more prominent sign – especially as a pioneer in the climbing world.
However, the 86 -year -old does not think the billionaire was something that should be translated. Instead, he looked at “politics failure” because of the increasing gap between the rich and the poor and demanded that his employees be removed – but the sale of a $ 3 billion company or going to the public was out of the table.
How Patagonia’s founder got his name from the world’s richest list in the world
The sale of the company will make Chuenard move from the assets to obtaining the actual billions of dollars in the bank-which aims for the purpose of exercise.
He rejected the public subscription. “I do not respect the stock market at all,” Chuenard said, according to the new generation book. “Once you are public, you have lost control of the company, and you have to increase profits for the shareholder to the maximum. Loss of all control, then become one of these irresponsible companies.”
Therefore, in 2022, Chuenard and his family decided to transfer their ownership in Patagonia to confidence and a non -profit organization that guaranteed the use of the company worth $ 100 million annually to combat climate change and protect the uncontrolled lands.
“We hope this will affect a new form of capitalism that does not end with some wealthy and a group of poor,” said Chuenard. New York Times At the time of advertising. “We will give up the maximum amount of money for people who actively provide this planet.”
While this step was also a means of Avoid paying large taxes From just letting Patagonia move to Chuenard’s heirs, he said it is the perfect solution to escape billionaire.
Four of the new billionaires are populated every week
Chouinard is not alone in his feelings that inequality is wealth is an increased concern. More than a quarter of our adults through political affiliation says it is bad that some people have personal wealth of one billion dollars or more, according to what he said. Pio Research Center.
Although the majority of Americans, 55 %, are still not interested, many billionaires have taken it upon themselves to abandon the fans of wealth. In 2010, Warren Buffett, as well as French Bill and Melinda Gates, invented the pledge of giving, a commitment to abandon 50 % of their wealth for charity during their lives.
About $ 206 billion was donated by the original institutes, but the majority of funds have entered into special foundations, according to Institute of Political Studies. Less than 4 % of I have followed the two positions through On the agreement.
Meanwhile, billionaire wealth continues to increase significantly; Three times the growth of billionaire increased in 2024 against the previous year – which is equivalent to nearly four new billionaires every week, Oxfam estimates. In the United States alone, billionaire wealth increased by $ 1.4 trillion in 2024, when 74 other people became billionaires.
This year alone, Larry EllsonThe net value increased by 175 billion dollars, according to L. Bloomberg Billionaire Index. And during it It excelled for a period of briefly Elon Musk As the richest person in the world, Timing and Spacex The CEO has supported his progress of $ 440 billion.
https://fortune.com/img-assets/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/GettyImages-1481560260-e1758552540861.jpg?resize=1200,600
Source link