Re:wild and Bezos Earth Fund Launch $200 Million Fund Targeting 100 Critically Endangered Species
The Facts
- Re:wild, co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio, and the Bezos Earth Fund announced the Phoenix Species Project on Tuesday, Aug. 4, with an initial $200 million commitment.
- The project aims to support recovery of 100 critically endangered species across about 30 countries, covering mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and plants in habitats ranging from oceans to volcanic landscapes.
- The Bezos Earth Fund is contributing $100 million, with Re:wild matching that amount with support from DiCaprio, the Age of Union foundation and the Todd Graves Family Foundation.
- Organizers say funding will be sustained over several years per species — Re:wild describes five years of funding per species — rather than delivered through short grant cycles.
- Organizers describe the fund as the largest single philanthropic initiative dedicated exclusively to the recovery of critically endangered species.
- Species named on the list include the golden-crowned sifaka, a lemur in Madagascar; the Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander in North Carolina; the Visayan warty pig in the Philippines; Attenborough's long-beaked echidna in New Guinea; the Cozumel harvest mouse in Mexico; and the pink land iguana found on Wolf Volcano in the Galápagos.
- The initiative says it will work with Indigenous peoples, local communities, scientists, conservation organizations and governments, alongside roughly 100 partner groups.
- The project traces to a 2021 meeting between DiCaprio, Re:wild CEO Wes Sechrest, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, followed by discussions with governments, environmental groups and Indigenous communities.
- Beyond funding, organizers say the project will offer a global platform and technical support to smaller conservation efforts that have shown results but lacked durable backing.
Context
Why are backers framing this fund as needed now?
The New York Times reported that the announcement lands as the Trump administration rolls back protections for endangered species, countries fall short of their conservation commitments, and corporations retreat from environmental pledges NYT,La Nacion. DiCaprio has spent years developing the idea of a concerted effort for species whose habitats and survival are threatened by climate change EL MUNDO,Independent,U.S. News & World R….
Has the project drawn criticism?
USA Today reported that the initiative comes amid criticism of Jeff Bezos's environmental footprint, tied to Amazon's logistics operations and data centers USA Today.
Who is running the money?
The fund is led jointly by Re:wild, which DiCaprio co-founded in 2021 with biologist Wes Sechrest, who serves as its CEO, and the Bezos Earth Fund, which Bezos established and which Lauren Sánchez helps lead Independent,Variety,infobae,infobae.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- The five-year-per-species commitment and the choice to work through Indigenous peoples, local communities and governments is the right design — patient money beats short grant cycles.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether $200 million in donor money is a stopgap exposing what enforced public protection should already guarantee, or a model that should take priority over a bigger public ledger.
How left and right read it
Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund announced $200 million on Aug. 4 for the recovery of 100 critically endangered species across about 30 countries, with five years of funding per species and work alongside Indigenous peoples, local communities and governments. The patient, multi-year design is exactly right — and exactly what public protection is supposed to guarantee. Private money is not a substitute for enforced law. Demand that governments hold the floor.
“The Trump administration is rolling back protections for endangered species. Countries around the world are failing to deliver on their conservation commitments. Corporations are backpedaling on environmental pledges.” — The New York Times
Private donors put up $200 million between them — the Bezos Earth Fund matched by Re:wild with DiCaprio, Age of Union and the Todd Graves Family Foundation — and committed it for five years per species instead of short grant cycles. That is what private capital does well: patient money, a defined list of a hundred species, and partners including Indigenous peoples, local communities and governments who actually live with the results. Conservation on this model deserves priority over expanding the public ledger.
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Wire services (10)
Independent coverage (59)
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