As we watch uber-rich celebrities and CEOs spend their money on unnecessarily gigantic homes, private jets, and mega-yachts, AS.com reported about one billionaire is investing in the planet, instead.
Epic Games' founder Tim Sweeney, North Carolina's second-wealthiest person, is purchasing land in his state for conservation, and, since 2021, when land started becoming more expensive, he shared that "my focus has moved to getting large blocks of contiguous conservation lands I've acquired since 2009 into permanent conservation."
North Carolina-based Epic Games is the game and software developer behind the popular game Fortnite.
Sweeney purchases the land when it becomes available and holds it to sell to the state or conservation organizations at a discount when they can purchase it. He then uses the money from the sale of the land to fund additional conservation efforts.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service benefited from Sweeney's generous spirit toward conservation in 2016 when Sweeney donated 7,000 acres to the organization, and, in 2021, he gave similar acreage to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.
In total, he has purchased about 54,000 acres and counting.
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In contrast to other billionaires who purchase extravagant luxuries that are out of reach for all but a select few of the uber-rich, Sweeney is using his wealth for the good of the planet rather than the benefit of only himself.
These luxuries are not only self-serving, but they also damage the planet, using an exorbitant number of resources and producing a great deal of pollution.
Sweeney is not the only billionaire using wealth for good. Former CEO of Patagonia Kris Tompkins and her husband, Doug Tompkins, a founder of The North Face, Inc. and Esprit, used $345 million to purchase land in South America. They then donated the land back to the public of Chile and Argentina so that it would be saved from development.
Low- and average-income people may wonder why the uber-rich don't do more for the greater good, but Sweeney is one example of an individual who puts his money where his concerns are, taking action and making a huge impact on the environment and protected spaces.
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Definitely 👍 Keeping areas protected is important for preserving biodiversity and local wildlife.
Jay Leutze of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy told The News and Observer, "He thinks the way we do, using conservation science and our goal to have ecosystems function at their highest level."
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