Aussie company Patagonia is donating its profits to fight climate change. You’ll see that splashed across the news.
However, could the real story be tax evasion?
You heard about Patagonia and their big donation? Interested in another perspective?
The Patagonia headline is “Billionaire Gives Away Company to Fight Climate Change”.
Wow that’s awesome right⁉️🔥
However, there’s more to it than most realize.
Yes 98% of the company is now owned by a non-profit that will leverage the $100M in profits to fight the environmental crisis.
BUT Yvon Chouinard and family save $700 MILLION in taxes.
He moved all his family voting stock, appx 2% of its total shares to an entity called Patagonia Purpose Trust. This entity now can make unlimited political donations in the U.S.
The deal is designed for the ultra-wealthy to use non-profits to exert political influence long past their lifetime.
He won’t have to pay $700M in capital gains taxes for selling a $3 Billion company.
He avoids paying a 40% estate and gift tax when transferring large fortunes to heirs.
When asked for comment on the tax implications… crickets. 🦗😶
I’ll share the Bloomberg article here and in the comments.
I love the idea of positively impacting the planet. But “battling climate change” can mean a lot of things.
What do you think about all this⁉️😲👇🏾
