Two is better than one, and in an effort to help protect against deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Re:Wild Conservation and Jeff Bezos’s Nature Solutions have teamed up. The result is a whopping $200 million donation through the Protect Our Planet Challenge. The next four years will witness the generous donation aid Brazil in achieving zero deforestation in the Amazon.
‘We are inspired by Brazil’s ambitious goals for protecting the Amazon, one of the most important places for wildlife on the planet, and are thrilled to be able to support these efforts through the Protecting Our Planet Challenge,’ DiCaprio, 48, said in a statement Friday. The main agenda is to focus on the 145 million acres of undesignated public lands. The plan will improve the management of existing areas and uphold the rights of Indigenous communities. Cristián Samper, managing director and leader of Nature Solutions of the Bezos Earth Fund, shared, ‘The Amazon is critical for the future of global biodiversity and climate, and we welcome the commitment from President Lula and the Government of Brazil to protect it.’
‘We are pleased to support the designation and management of protected areas and Indigenous territories as a key part of the strategy to reduce deforestation, along with new economic models of development based on the conservation and sustainable use of the forest,’ he explained. The Hollywood A-lister and Amazon co-founder have fervently donated large sums of money for environmental benefit. DiCaprio has donated $43 million to restore the Galápagos Islands and $3 million to the Australia Wildlife Fund. Billionaire Bezos posted on Instagram: “Amazon is donating A$1 million in needed provisions and services.”
The flip side of the deep-pocketed climate champions-
On one end, they are donating generously, but on the other, they are also creating a large carbon footprint. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeff Bezos have etched their undying love for superyachts and private jets in public memory. The tech tycoon owns the second-largest sailing yacht in the world, Koru. It sails with a support vessel Abeona. The high-profile couple zips in and out in helicopters and private jets to board Koru, which adds to their footprint tremendously.
In May 2023, the centibillionaire and his glamorous fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, flew in a helicopter to set sail on their brand new $500 million megayacht Koru, where the pair got engaged. The Revenant actor has been spotted on a bevy of boats from Vava II, a $150 million custom superyacht, and twice on Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s 482-feet mammoth Topaz (now A+) worth $450 million.
He was spotted on yet another luxury ship with 23-year-old Ukrainian model Maria Beregova in St. Tropez. Last year, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called Leonardo DiCaprio an eco hypocrite, asking him to quit carousing on superyachts before preaching to the planet on environmental issues.
