Yvon Chouinard’s Net Worth Is Staggering — Inside the Patagonia Founder’s Massive Fortune

Behind some of the world’s biggest companies, there are the founders who have built their empires behind the scenes. Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard has amassed a staggering net worth throughout his life.

Yvon Chouinard founded the outdoor sports brand Patagonia in 1970. From its modest start selling rugby shirts, the company went on to become one of the biggest amongst its competitors. Yvon is also the founder of Chouinard Equipment, Ltd. Let’s dive into the founder's impressive wealth.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Yvon Chouinard is worth an estimated $100 million as of September 2025, the bulk of which is from his highly successful brand Patagonia, known for its environmentally-friendly outdoor clothing and products. However, the brand itself is worth much more.

Per the outlet, Patagonia has an annual revenue of $1 billion and generates $100 million in profits. Additionally, the company has a $3 billion evaluation. The reason Yvon is no longer a billionaire is that he donated most of the shares of his company to charity. Forbes listed him as a billionaire with a net worth of $1.2 billion in 2022, which he really didn't appreciate, he told the NYT (per The Entrepreneur). Later in 2022, he wrote a letter to his employees telling them he was giving the company to a nonprofit dedicated to protecting nature.

In August 2022, Yvon and his family surprised the public when they donated Patagonia to charity — meaning that he transferred 98% of Patagonia's private shares to a 501(c)(4) non-profit called the Holdfast Collective, which would receive 100% of Patagonia's profits going forward. 2% of the company went to the "Patagonia Purpose Trust," which is dedicated to maintaining Patagonia's values around sustainability.

The Holdfast Collective uses the funds to fight climate change and preserve nature.

From its start, Patagonia donated 10% of pretax profits to various environmental charities annually.

Patagonia is responsible for the creation of many products, but when asked by Superfolk what his favorite is, he didn’t hesitate to offer his choice. “The ice axe,” he told the outlet. ”And, you know, that is because the ice axe was an innovation, it wasn’t an invention.”

“We just improved on the existing Ice Axe. But… it made ice climbing so much more effective,” Yvon continued. “When we came out with it no one knew what to do with it. And it was the same thing with chocks (climbing anchors). We had to write a book on how to use chocks.”

“We were so far ahead of the game with the ice axe that we had to teach people how to use the product,” he shared. “And, so I also had to write a book called “Climbing Ice” showing what to do with this new Ice Axe.”

Yvon also explained why it is essential to know when to bring in other people to help you. “At some point, you can’t do it all yourself and you have to trust other people to do the job,” he told the outlet.

“The biggest problem small companies make is for the entrepreneur to think that he is a manager,” Yvon added. “Because at some point, I mean they're two different mindsets. It takes two different kinds of people.”