Patagonia founder gives away company to save planet

Yvon Chouinard, 83, could have sold the brand -- valued at $3 billion, according to The New York Times -- or taken it public. Instead, he, his wife and their two children agreed to transfer all of Patagonia's voting shares, or stock that gives the holder voting rights, in the company to a trust in charge of ensuring the brand's environmental values are respected. All of Patagonia's nonvoting shares have been transferred to a nonprofit dedicated to fighting against climate change and for nature protection and conservation. Company profits will also be donated to the nonprofit.