June 1, 2009

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Hey, Green Spender: Top 100 Eco-Barons

The Times of London releases a list of the richest and greenest tycoons

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Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are first and second on a list of 100 wealthy individuals who have made hefty investments in clean technology or environmental causes. The Times of London news organization, which examined dossiers of the world’s richest people, says the 100 tycoons on its Green List are together worth $375 billion.

According to the Times, Buffett, who runs the Berkshire Hathaway investment firm, has poured $230 million into BYD, a Hong Kong company that makes batteries for electric cars. He also holds a major stake in MidAmerican Energy, a large wind energy utility. Gates has invested in several renewable fuels companies, including Pacific Ethanol and Sapphire Energy; the latter intends to produce gasoline from algae.

Americans hold 35 of the 100 spots. Another 17 are from China, 10 are British and seven are German. The top 10 individuals are listed here; the rest can be found at www.timesonline.co.uk/richlist.

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  1. Warren Buffett (U.S.; car batteries, wind)

  2. Bill Gates (U.S.; biofuels)

  3. Ingvar Kamprad (Sweden; waste-to-energy, geothermal)

  4. Marcel Brenninkmeijer (the Netherlands; wind, hydro, solar)

  5. Mukesh Ambani (India; biofuel crops)

  6. Michael Bloomberg (U.S.; efficient cities)

  7. Michael Otto (Germany; green products)

  8. Paul Allen (U.S.; biodiesel, geothermal)

  9. Donald Bren (U.S.; environmental science)

  10. Sergey Brin (U.S.; electric cars, renewable energy)

Note: This article was originally printed with the title, "Top 100 Eco-Barons."

SA Special Editions Vol 19 Issue 2sThis article was published with the title “Inspirations” in SA Special Editions Vol. 19 No. 2s (), p. 11
doi:10.1038/scientificamericanearth0609-11a
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