Louis Bacon: A life well spent on conservation

It has been just over 57 years since Louis Bacon entered the world, and those 57 years have led to many great accolades for conservation work.

Forbes named him as one of the ten greenest billionaires in the world this April. In January, he was awarded the Audubon Society’s top accolade, the Audubon medal, which has been given to the likes of Walt Disney, the Rockefeller family, Jimmy Carter and Ted Turner.

Just this month, he was recognised yet again, with the Peconic Land Trust honouring him in a ceremony on the 4^th of August. He was thanked for his efforts towards the protection of the natural lands on Long Island, with the non-profit organisation honouring the “conservation legacy of the Louis Bacon family.” The group added: “Through the Moore Charitable Foundation and affiliates, Bacon's conservation support has stretched from Colorado to crystal clear waters of the islands and ranges from protecting critical landscapes to preserving coral reefs in a fragile marine environment.”

Bacon’s efforts have rightfully been noted by leading organisations, but his passion for the environment is not for the fame. Since early childhood, he has aimed to be in a position to protect the natural world.

The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, put it best. He stated: "Raised as an avid outdoorsman, even as a young man Louis developed a reverence for the natural world. His lifelong passion for land and water conservation has benefitted many communities where his conservation efforts have made a real difference to those who live, work and vacation in those places, including here in New York.”

Born in North Carolina – where the main focus of his conservation has been – Louis Bacon worked his way through degrees in American Literature and Finance, before becoming involved in the banking industry as a broker and trader. His key financial achievement was to found Moore Capital Management.

This progression allowed Bacon to follow his dream of creating a charitable foundation in 1992, The Moore Charitable Foundation. Its aim is to provide financial backing for non-profit organisations which focus on the habitats of wildlife, especially within water systems.

His work on the environmental front has been in the making for many years, and will surely continue for many more to come.