Chouinard Rejects the List, Citing Wealth Polarization
An anecdote about Yvon Chouinard, the 86-year-old founder of the global outdoor brand Patagonia, who became angry when his name appeared on a billionaire list and requested to be removed, is once again drawing attention.
On September 22 (local time), Fortune magazine in the United States cited journalist David Gelles' new book, "Dirtbag Billionaire," to report on Chouinard's reaction when he was included in Forbes' billionaire list in 2017.
The book notes that Chouinard was "truly furious" when his name appeared on the billionaire list, saying, "I was really angry. I don't have a billion dollars in the bank, and I don't drive fancy cars," expressing strong opposition.
Having lived his entire life as a rock climber, he slept in his car or on the ground in the wild and lived on just one dollar a day. Chouinard was known for his frugality, reportedly eating dented cans of cat food at times.
However, he did not consider becoming a billionaire something to be proud of. Chouinard pointed to the deepening polarization of wealth as a "policy failure." He also asked his employees to take measures to ensure his name did not appear on the Forbes list.
Nevertheless, he did not consider selling the company, which is valued at 3 billion dollars (4.186 trillion won), or taking it public through an IPO. He believed that selling the company would give him a large amount of assets and actually make him a billionaire in cash, which did not align with his goals. He also rejected an IPO, stating, "If you go public, you lose control of the company and have to pursue maximum profits for shareholders."
Ultimately, in 2022, Chouinard and his family transferred their approximately 3 billion dollar stake in Patagonia to a trust and a nonprofit organization. The purpose was to use the company's annual profit of 100 million dollars (139.5 billion won) for climate change initiatives and the protection of undeveloped land. At the time, Chouinard told The New York Times, "I want to give away as much money as possible to people working to save the planet," expressing hope that this would influence a new form of capitalism.
Some observers saw the decision at the time as a simple means of avoiding inheritance taxes, but Chouinard emphasized that it was "the ideal solution to step away from billionaire status."
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