Millionaires with Lots of Green: Doug and Kristine Tompkins

When most of us think of philanthropic causes, we think of some star or celebrity giving a large sum of money to an already famous cause. We read about such things constantly in news articles and on internet websites. But, what happens when a little known couple, with their fingers on the pulse of the environment, choose to spend their millions making a physical difference.

Alright so maybe Doug and Kristine Tompkins are not so little known. As the long time owners of the infamous ESPRIT clothing company, they have been active environmentalists for many years. After selling the company in 1990 they decided to spend their millions reserving natural lands in order to save them from private ownership and development. They started in Southern Chile.

For someone wanting to visit the Tompkin family you must be hard pressed to see them. Pumalin Park, Chile sits on the northern edge of Patagonia in the southern part of Chile. Over 800,000 acres of remote wilderness makes up one of the last virgin wildernesses in the world. The trip takes more than three days and begins with two days worth of plane rides, moves on to a dusty highway, a ferry ride, more dusty highway, a five hour boat ride down a gorgeous fjord, a nights rest only to be awakened to one more boat ride. When you finally land on the muddy beaches and think the trip is over, you are met by a huge tractor with even larger wheels. Through the trees you reach a well-maintained roadway leading up to one of the most beautiful homes one could ever imagine. This is the home of Doug and Kristine Tompkins.

The couples home is as beautiful as their passion to save mother earth. You can hear the anger in his voice when Doug speaks of the ways the Earth is raped of itself every year. "As we see this human project sweeping across the globe, wiping out everything in its trajectory, it's upsetting," Doug states. "I don't want to call it anger, but it's upsetting and I try to use my 'upsetedness' if you will, to get me going in the morning. We are immersed in a serious crisis, and we have to rethink the living arrangements on the planet."