What do we think about this? Billionaire spends his working career as “ruthless corporate raider” (per Forbes, who would know) — then, late in his career, turns around and donates the lion’s share of his profit to a good cause.
Such is the case of Kjell Inge Røkke, the Norwegian billionaire now dedicating his $2.7 billion fortune to the Research Expedition Vessel (REV), a marine research vessel. It’s meant to combat the huge and growing problem of plastic in oceans. (Here’s just one distressing statistic out of many from the Plastic Oceans Foundation: “Over 90% of seabirds worldwide have plastic pieces in their stomachs.” Want another one? Plastic bits outnumber plankton by 26 to 1 in some parts of the ocean.
Røkke will partner on the project with the World Wildlife Fund. The boat can suck up five tons of plastic a day and then melt it down. It’ll also have space for private events, presumably for hosting fellow billionaires who might be sweet-talked into a donation if they can view the REV’s work up close. “The oceans are also under greater pressure than ever before from overfishing, coastal pollution, habitat destruction, climate change and ocean acidification, and one of the most pressing challenges of all, plasticization,” Røkke told Business Insider.
Let’s just hope there are enough billionaires for the rest of the world’s problems.
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