Douglas Tompkins
A visionary entrepreneur who turned his fortune from fashion brands into one of history's most ambitious private land conservation projects.
1943–2015 (age 72)·Chilean-American businessman and environmentalist·Birthday: March 20·The Silent Generation
Biography
Doug Tompkins lived several radical lives in one. First, as a pioneering outdoorsman and entrepreneur, co-founding The North Face to equip adventurers and later building Esprit into a global fashion giant. Disillusioned with consumerism, he made a dramatic pivot, selling his interests and moving to Chile in the early 1990s. There, with his wife Kris, he embarked on a monumental second act: buying vast tracts of wilderness to protect them from development. Through Tompkins Conservation, they weren't just creating private parks; they were practicing 'rewilding,' restoring ecosystems and reintroducing native species like the jaguar. Their work culminated in the donation of over a million acres to the governments of Chile and Argentina, leading to the creation of new national parks and expanding others, a philanthropic legacy of staggering scale.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Douglas was born in 1943, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Douglas Was Born
The biggest hits of 1943
#1 Movie
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Best Picture
Casablanca
Douglas's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1943Born
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1948Started school
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1956Became a teenager
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1959Could drive
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1961Could vote
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Turned 21
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1973Turned 30
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1983Turned 40
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 50
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 60
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 70
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2015Died at 72
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
Key Achievements
- Founded the outdoor equipment company The North Face in San Francisco in 1966.
- Co-founded the international clothing brand Esprit with his then-wife Susie Tompkins Buell.
- Co-founded Tompkins Conservation, which protected over 14 million acres of land in Chile and Argentina.
- Played a key role in the creation of Pumalín Douglas R. Tompkins National Park and Patagonia National Park in Chile.
- Pioneered the practice of large-scale 'rewilding,' reintroducing extinct species to restored ecosystems.
Did You Know?
He was a skilled kayaker and mountaineer, with first ascents in Patagonia and the Alps.
He survived a near-fatal kayaking accident in Chile's Futaleufú River in 1993.
He directed two environmental documentary films, Wild and The New Environmentalists.
He and his wife, Kris, initially faced suspicion in Chile, where some believed they were secretly planning a Zionist enclave or uranium mine.
“You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth.”
