Billionaire to Give Most of His Fortune to Save the Ocean from Plastic

A Norwegian billionaire who was known as “a ruthless corporate raider” and one of the wealthiest men in the country donated $2.7 billion of his richness just to create a mega-yacht for the sole purpose of cleaning the oceans of plastics.

Billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke’s business ventures are with off-shore drilling and shipping. He realized that plastics disposed at sea are harming the marine life and so he wants to create a 596-foot yacht called REV and clean 5 tons of plastic trash from the ocean and have them melted.

The vessel will be huge enough to travel the whole world, gather plastic trash and check the health of the ocean.

22-year old Boyan Slat plans to launch his own Ocean Cleanup Project in 2018. He stated that the Arctic Ocean is where billions of plastics are disposed at.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, by 2050, there will already be five trillion pieces more plastic in the ocean, and this affects big and small animals.

Rokke mentioned that the ocean had given so much to society and him, and now that he is a billionaire, it is time for him to give $2.7 billion back to the ocean.

It was reported that the vessel can accommodate 60 scientists and 40 crews. There will be instances when the billionaire and his family will use the yacht for extra funding, where he can bring 36 guests and 54 crews.

As for Rokke, the REV will be used as a vessel where knowledge can be collated. He welcomes everyone who wants to make a big difference in preserving the ocean.

The REV is going to be the largest yacht with gross tonnage at 16,000GT in the world, it will make the ocean proud.