Leonardo DiCaprio

Who Is Leo?

41 year-old American

(Finally) Oscar-winning actor and film producer

Estimated net worth $245M

Were you surprised when Leonardo DiCaprio gave a passionate speech about climate change as he accepted the Oscar, a moment he had been waiting for 22 years? I was.

The gist of his speech was this: He doesn’t take anything for granted, be it the Oscar or this planet; and we should stop procrastinating, and do something together.

Global Activist

The Oscar was hardly the first time Leo used his influence to amplify the message. He is one of the few people admired by the general public and the head of state alike, and Leo the activist utilizes his unique position.

He started Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation back in 1998, which has awarded over $45M of grants to 78 projects concerning oceans, forests, wildlife, and climate.

Leo joined in People’s Climate Change March in 2014 alongside 400,000 people in NYC, and has spoken at numerous events including: UN Climate Summit, US State Department’s Our Ocean conference, and World Economic Forum in Davos.

Leo the Activist: Dressed Down (Photo: Peter Foley, epa)

Leo the Activist: Dressed Up (Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Investor and Divestor

His activism started with donating money and performances, like narrating for the film The 11th Hour. But it has evolved: Leo actively employs his own fortune to make the point now.

Last fall, Leo invested in a trash-hauling startup called Rubicon Global. He had invested in other environmentally focused startups before, including an electric car maker, and a synthetic diamond startup Diamond Foundry. As a limited partner of Obvious Ventures, Leo invests in more environmental solutions companies.

He also joined Divest/Invest, an initiative to drop fossil fuel from your investment portfolios.

Fossil fuel divestment is growing fast. Over 500 organizations and 2,000 people have pledged to remove fossil fuel from their $3.4 trillion assets.

Divest/Invest pledge has ballooned 52x in 15 months

And this is not just a tree-hugger movement any more. Leo is joined by pension funds, universities, and investment firms that are worried about the business and financial risk of the fossil fuel industry. Even The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, built with profits from Standard Oil Co., has joined in.

Cliff notes: Scientists have calculated how much fossil fuel we can use before raising the global temperature by 2 degrees and causing an irreparable damage to our environment. This means fossil fuel energy companies may be valuing themselves based on the natural resources they will never be able to use. It's making many investors nervous.

Based on his pledge to divest, Leo and his foundation will go through a process to eliminate coal, oil, and gas businesses from their investment portfolios.

Unfortunately, the process takes much longer than you’d think—according to actor Mark Ruffalo who joined Divest/Invest a year earlier, it will take him 3–5 years to finish.

What Triggered Leo?

Leonardo DiCaprio is a celebrity who dates supermodels… But when it comes to environmental activism, I don’t suppose he was so different from many of us: A concerned consumer unsure of what to do.

Clearly, that’s no longer the case. He knows how to use his resources, including his own investments, to make a difference.

Watching his oscar speech, I wondered what triggered the change: What propelled him to become such a vocal thought leader?

Turns out, the trigger was his meeting with then-Vice President Al Gore at the White House in 1998, same year Leo started his foundation.

Let’s find out how Gore, the influencer’s influencer, operates.