Billionaires burning more carbon than a country

The investors behind Chanel, Estee Lauder and Ralph Lauren sit alongside Australia's own Mike Cannon-Brookes.

The investors behind Chanel, Estee Lauder and Ralph Lauren sit alongside Australia's own Mike Cannon-Brookes.

The billionaires behind luxe fashion and beauty brands including Chanel, Ralph Lauren and Estee Lauder have been named and shamed as some of the biggest carbon emitters.

International charity Oxfam has found carbon emissions from investments by 125 of the richest billionaires, including Atlassian founder and eco-warrior Mike Cannon-Brookes and mining magnate Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, emit an annual average of 3m tonnes of carbon dioxide. 

This is the equivalent of the nation of France and does not include emissions from lifestyle choices such as owning multiple mansions and properties or the use of private jets and yachts. 

Others on the list included Bill Gates (4.8 million tonnes), Warren Buffett (3.5 million) Indian coal baron Gautam Adani (27.5 million) and Elon Musk (79,000).

Indian fashion mogul Kumar Birla has emerged as the worst emitter among the investors in fashion and beauty brands named in the list with 10.43 million tonnes of CO2 across investments in three companies including textiles business Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail.

The textile producer has long-term exclusive partnerships with brands including Ralph Lauren, Ted Baker, Hackett London and Simon Carter. 

Founder of French luxury group Kering - which owns Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent - Francois Pinault emitted 23,100 tonnes of carbon dioxide. 

Heir to global beauty empire Estee Lauder - which owns brands including Clinique, MAC and Jo Malone - Leonard Lauder produced 18,300 tonnes through his investments. 

Oxfam calculates the annual carbon footprint of the investments of just 125 of the world’s richest billionaires is equivalent to the carbon emissions of France, a nation of 67 million people.

This represents an average of 3.1 million tonnes per billionaire, which is more than one million times higher than 2.76 tonnes, the average for someone in the bottom 90% of humanity.

Co-owners of French luxury brand Chanel, brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, are each responsible for emitting 14,000 tonnes through their investments, according to the Oxfam analysis. 

The Oxfam analysis, which studied direct and indirect emissions, found billionaires had an average of 14% of their investments in polluting industries, such as fossil fuels, and materials like cement.

This is twice the average for investments in the 500 largest publicly listed companies in the US. The analysis looked at emissions from the investments of billionaires and not the emissions from their businesses. 

Oxfam has Mr Cannon-Brookes ranked 18th on the list with emissions of 4.6 million tonnes, due largely to his investment in AGL, which operates coal-fired power stations. The report acknowledged Mr Cannon-Brookes had taken up a significant holding in AGL as an activist shareholder to prevent it from splitting up, which would have allowed it to continue operating coal power plants for another two decades.

An Oxfam spokeswoman said iron ore magnate Mr Forrest was ranked 43rd with emissions of 817,000 tonnes.

The list of billionaires from countries including the US, France, Russia, Nigeria, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia and Israel does not include any from China or Hong Kong.