What was Burt Shavitz's net worth?
Burt Shavitz was an American beekeeper and businessman who had a net worth of $2 million at the time of his death. Burt Shavitz died on July 5, 2015, at the age of 80.
Shavitz was best known for co-founding and being the face of the Burt's Bees personal care products company. Burt co-founded Burt's Bees with a single mother/wax candle maker, Roxanne Quimby. They met in 1984 when he picked Roxanne and her young daughter up as hitchhikers. They became business and romantic partners soon after that first encounter. Shavitz and Quimby started off making candles from leftover beeswax and then started bottling and selling honey before starting to use honey and beeswax in other products. They eventually released a line of personal care products that includes everything from lip balm to skincare, makeup, and shampoo. Shavitz's image and name became synonymous with the brand's earth-friendly ethos, though his actual involvement with the company was relatively brief. Known for his reclusive nature and simple lifestyle, Shavitz preferred living in a converted turkey coop in Maine to the trappings of corporate success, even after the company he helped create became a global phenomenon. By 1994, the company was generating $3 million per year in revenue and had moved to North Carolina. Around this time, their professional and personal relationship had deteriorated. Quimby bought out Shavitz's stake in the company for $130,000.
In 2004, a private equity firm bought 80% of Burt's from Roxanne a few years later for $173 million. After this buyout, Burt threatened to sue Roxanne until she finally gave him $4 million. She agreed. Clorox purchased Burt's Bees entirely for over $925 million in 2007. He continued earning a salary to be the spokesman and make personal appearances for the company for the remainder of his life.
In 2013, a documentary called "Burt's Buzz," was released. The film discussed the life of Shavitz as it related to being a beekeeper and businessman.
Early Life and Career in Photography
Ingram Berg Shavitz was born in Manhattan, NY, on May 15, 1935. Shavitz grew up in a middle-class Jewish family. After serving in the military, he pursued a career as a photojournalist in New York City during the 1960s, shooting for publications like Time and Life magazines. His subjects included prominent civil rights rallies and emerging counterculture movements. However, by the early 1970s, Shavitz had grown disillusioned with city life and decided to pursue a simpler existence in rural Maine.
The Beekeeper Years
After relocating to Maine, Shavitz lived off the grid in a small cabin and began keeping bees, selling honey from the back of his pickup truck. He learned beekeeping from other local beekeepers and eventually acquired more hives, developing a small but sustainable honey business. It was during this period in 1984 that he had a chance encounter with Roxanne Quimby, a single mother living in a tent with her twin sons, who would become his business partner and transform his small honey operation into something much bigger.
(Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Building Burt's Bees
Quimby began by making candles from Shavitz's leftover beeswax, selling them at local craft fairs. The partnership proved successful, and they soon expanded into other products, including the now-famous beeswax lip balm. Shavitz's bearded face and distinctive cap became the company's logo, lending an authentic, rustic image that appealed to consumers seeking natural products. The company grew rapidly through the late 1980s and early 1990s, moving its operations to North Carolina to accommodate expansion.
Exit and Later Years
The relationship between Shavitz and Quimby eventually soured, and in 1994, Shavitz was bought out of the company. His payment was a 37-acre property in Maine that was worth around $130,000 in 1994. A private equity firm bought 80% of Burt's from Roxanne in 2004 for $173 million. After this buyout, Burt threatened to sue Roxanne until she finally gave him $4 million. Clorox purchased Burt's Bees entirely for over $925 million in 2007.
Through it all, Shavitz continued living a simple life in Maine. He continued to live in his converted turkey coop, without hot water or television, seemingly content with his modest circumstances. Though he occasionally made appearances for the company as its symbol, he remained largely removed from the corporate world he had inadvertently helped create.
(Photo by Noam Galai/WireImage)
Legacy and Impact
Despite his limited involvement in the company's later success, Shavitz's influence on Burt's Bees' brand identity and values remained significant. His genuine commitment to simple living and environmental consciousness helped establish the authentic character that made the brand appealing to consumers. His story became the subject of a 2013 documentary, "Burt's Buzz," which explored the contradiction between his humble lifestyle and his role as the face of a major personal care products company. Shavitz passed away in 2015 at the age of 80, leaving behind a complex legacy as an reluctant icon of natural products and sustainable business practices.
Parkman Property
At the time of his death, Burt still lived in his original converted turkey coop in Parkman, Maine. He owned 40 lush acres around the coop. In September 2016, it was revealed that Burt's Bees (via parent company, Clorox) had acquired the coop and intended to save and preserve it at its corporate headquarters in North Carolina.
