Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, has announced that his family is giving away the wildly profitable apparel company. In lieu of selling the $3 Billion company, the family is donating it to a specially designed set of trusts and nonprofit organizations.
The trust and nonprofits will ensure that the company’s profits of around $100 million a year will be used to combat climate change and protect undeveloped lands around the world.
Patagonia will continue to operate as a private, for-profit corporation from its headquarters in Ventura, CA.
You can read all about how Yvon built the company as well as his business principles in his amazing book, Let My People Go Surfing.