What is David Mayer de Rothschild's Net Worth?
David Mayer de Rothschild is a British adventurer, environmentalist, author, and film producer who has a net worth of $1 billion. A member of the wealthy Rothschild banking family, David de Rothschild is known for his many eco-expeditions, his sustainable boat the Plastiki, and his environmental organizations Adventure Ecology and Sculpt the Future. In other work, de Rothschild has written books and news columns and produced films.
Early Life and Education
David Mayer de Rothschild was born on August 25, 1978 in London, England as the youngest of three children of American mother Victoria Schott and British father Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, of the wealthy Rothschild banking family. His siblings are Anthony and Jessica. Growing up, de Rothschild attended Harrow School and was a top-ranked horse jumper on Britain's junior eventing team. For his higher education, he went to Oxford Brookes University, where he studied political science and information systems. After that, de Rothschild studied at the College of Naturopathic Medicine, London.
Career Beginnings
By the time he was 20, de Rothschild had started and sold his own music merchandising business. With the money, he purchased a 1,100-acre organic farm in New Zealand in 2001.
Expeditions
In the 2000s, de Rothschild became a prominent eco-adventurer. He became one of only 14 known people in history to traverse Antarctica, and was a member of the team that broke the world record for the fastest crossing of the Greenland ice cap. In 2006, de Rothschild went on a 100-day polar expedition from Russia to Canada. Later in the decade, he launched a mission to raise awareness of the Great Pacific garbage patch, and as part of the mission helped to develop a ship called the Plastiki. A 60-foot catamaran made from 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and other waste products, the Plastiki sailed over 8,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Sydney in 2010. Among his other expeditions, de Rothschild has spent significant time in the Amazon rainforest.
Organizations
As an outgrowth of his expeditions, de Rothschild founded Adventure Ecology, which operates as a community and network for discussing environmental issues. The organization runs a series of expeditions under its ARTiculate program, including expeditions to the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador and Brazil. De Rothschild also founded the World-Exposure Agency, a marketing agency that partners with businesses to foster sustainable practices and enterprises. Additionally, he is the founder of Sculpt the Future, an environmental education foundation; Mpact, a group that teaches companies how to effectively collaborate with community partners; and Lost Explorer, an ecology-focused lifestyle brand.
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Writing
As an author, de Rothschild penned the 2007 book "The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook: 77 Essential Skills to Stop Climate Change – Or Live Through It." It served as the official companion book to the Live Earth concert series. In 2008, de Rothschild co-authored the graphic novel "The Boy, the Girl, the Tree" with artist Simon Harrison. He also penned the foreword to the book "True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet." In other writing, de Rothschild has contributed columns to the Huffington Post focused on environmental issues.
Film Producing
In 2009, de Rothschild produced the documentary "Playground," about the child sex trade in the United States. He later co-produced the 2017 Hulu docudrama "Becoming Bond," about the life and career of one-time James Bond actor George Lazenby.
Personal Life
De Rothschild married his first wife, Princess Olimpia Anna Aldobrandini of Italy, in 1974. The couple later got divorced. In 2020, de Rothschild reportedly wed actress Karina Deyko, although details about their relationship are scarce.
