Leonardo DiCaprio

What makes Leonardo DiCaprio a Global Shaker?

Leonardo DiCaprio is and likely will go down in history as a true Hollywood Star. One who has honed his craft to perfection, earning an Academy Award and three Golden Globes.

He’s also spent more than two decades supporting and financing essential environmental projects.

The Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, Gangs of New York, The Wolf of Wallstreet, The Great Gatsby. These are just a few of the chart-topping movies that have contributed to DiCaprio’s international stardom, which he secured in 1997 after starring as Jack in James Cameron’s Titanic.

The film went on to become the highest-grossing film to date (it was surpassed in 2010 by Cameron’s film Avatar), grossing more than $1.84 billion in box-office receipts worldwide, and transformed DiCaprio into a commercial movie superstar.

The fan worship from teenage girls and women of all ages that ensued became known as “Leo-Mania.”

Directly following the success of Titanic (and earlier films,) 24-year-old DiCaprio established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) in 1998, a non-profit organization devoted to promoting environmental awareness.

To date, LDF has provided more than $100 million in grants to projects in all five oceans and across all seven continents.

In accepting his first Oscar for Best Actor award at the 2016 ceremony for The Revenant, DiCaprio stated:

“Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people out there who would be most affected by this. For our children’s children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed.”

In July 2019, DiCaprio, along with businesswoman and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, and investor and philanthropist Brian Sheth, founded Earth Alliance to “help address the urgent threats to our planet’s life support systems.”

“I am incredibly proud of the impact my foundation has had over the last 20 years by supporting nearly 200 projects from 132 different organizations across climate science, marine and land conservation, critical species preservation and indigenous rights,” said Leonardo DiCaprio.

“Today marks the next step in the evolution of LDF as it fully merges under the new Earth Alliance management and grant-making framework. Laurene and Brian are incredible civic leaders who share my passion and understanding of the urgency and scale of the challenges we face. I am proud to partner with them to form this new larger, nimble platform that shares resources and expertise while identifying the best programs to drive real change around the planet.”

In August 19, Earth Alliance committed $5 million toward the preservation of the Amazon rainforest following the alarming surge in wildfires.

The organization’s emergency Amazon Forest Fund is working to support local partners and indigenous communities in their fierce efforts to protect the sensitive habitats within the Amazon. The funds will be donated to five local organizations: Instituto Associacao Floresta Protegida (Kayapo), Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Instituto Kabu (Kayapo), Instituto Raoni (Kayapo) and Instituto Socioambiental (ISA).

Last updated: September 5, 2019

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