Greta Thunberg: From Teen Activist To Millionaire

Highlights

• Greta Thunberg's bold activism against climate change starting in 2018 had a significant impact globally, with thousands of students joining her Fridays For Future movement.
• Thunberg's influential speeches and direct manner of speaking caught the attention of world leaders, garnering millions of views and shares on social media.
• Thunberg has won numerous awards and prizes for her climate activism, and she uses the money she receives to support climate causes, donating most of it to charity.

In 2018, a 15-year-old Greta Thunberg was thrust into the limelight with unapologetic brazenness.

Between 2018 and 2021, 17,000 students in 24 countries joined her Fridays For Future (FFF) movement, regularly skipping school to protest climate change on the streets.

Towards the end of 2019, TIME Magazine named Thunberg "Person of the Year," alongside Dwayne Johnson and other influential people.

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The journal Nature named her one of the "Most Influential People In Science", and Apolitical.co listed her among the "Top 100 Most Influential People In Climate Policy."

By 2021, Greta Thunberg had won more than $2.5 million in awards, signed book deals, and participated in television shows. She donates most of her money to charity.

3 Greta Thunberg's Early Life

Greta Thunberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden, as Greta Tintin Eleonara Ernman Thunberg, to father Svante Thunberg and mother Malena Ernman.

As a teenager, she persuaded her family and friends to make eco-friendly choices.

Thunberg didn’t let an Asperger’s diagnosis get in the way. She went on to become a famous climate change influencer at home in Sweden, and internationally.

Thunberg’s Friday For Future (FFF) movement started as a simple protest at the doors of the Swedish Parliament in 2018.

Greta and a small group of friends sat down with placards that read “School Strike for Climate” and “if grown-ups don't give a s*** about my future, I won't either.”

Her bold pizzazz caught the attention of the media and led to the birth of Fridays For Future.

2 Global Fame, And “How Dare You!”

Between 2019 and 2020, Greta left school to focus on climate activism. Her direct manner of speaking (both assertive and articulate) soon caught the attention of world leaders.

In April 2019, Thunberg gave a stirring address before the European Parliament. She declared that the world was on the brink of a sixth mass extinction, and implored leaders to act quickly.

A few days later, she lectured British lawmakers in Westminster, saying:

"You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before."

In September 2019, she crossed the Atlantic on a yacht, to address a UN climate action summit in New York.

Thunberg elected not to travel by plane, because flights account for over two percent of the world’s C02 emissions, and instead sailed aboard a solar-powered 60ft yacht dubbed Malizia II.

On September 20th, she was welcomed by millions of climate change protesters in New York City, and on September 23rd, she delivered the now-famous “How Dare You” speech at the UN Climate Summit.

Thunberg castigated world leaders for stalling the dreams of young people in their refusal to act on climate change.

Her speech garnered millions of views and shares on social media, and incurred the ire of former President Donald Trump on Twitter.

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However, Thunberg famously clapped back at Trump on a few occasions via social media:

1 Greta Thunberg's Prizes, Awards, And Philanthropy

Thunberg, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, uses the money she gets from supporters, awards, and book deals to support climate causes.

Notable instances include:

Justin Sun's Donation: $1 Million (2018)

Inspired by Thunberg’s efforts and passion, Tron and BitTorrent CEO Justin Sun pledged to give $1 million to support Greta Thunberg’s climate initiatives.

In a tweet, he said:

I would like to personally commit $1 Mil to @GretaThunberg's initiative.

However, it was unclear whether Greta received the money.

If she did, she might have spent it on Fridays For Future (FFF).

Alternative Nobel Prize: $100,000 (2019)

In 2019, Thunberg was one of the recipients of the "Right Livelihood Award," known in Sweden as the "Alternative Nobel Prize."

The award came shortly after her electrifying speech at the UN Summit.

She used the funds, estimated at $103,000, to establish her foundation.

Human Act Award: $100,000 (2020)

On April 22, 2020, Greta Thunberg received the Human Act award worth $100,000.

The amount was donated to her through her foundation. A few days later, she partnered with UNICEF, and donated the money to support children during the COVID pandemic.

Human Act provided an additional $100,000 in support of this campaign.

Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity: $1.14 Million (2020)

Shortly after winning the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity (worth $1.14 million), Greta shared a video on social media pledging the entirety of the prize money to climate change action.

In 2020, Greta donated $175,000 to help the "people on the frontlines" of climate disasters in Africa.

The amount was equally distributed among key organizations, including the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, Solar Sister, and Oil Change International, to strengthen their efforts in Africa.

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In 2021, Thunberg donated $120,290 through her foundation in support of equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution, joining the likes of Dolly Parton and Rihanna.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lauded her actions, urging world leaders to emulate her.

In 2022, Greta donated $200,000 (again through her foundation) to help fight plans to erect an iron-ore mine on land used as reindeer habitat in Sweden; London-based Beowulf Mining had received the Swedish government’s green light to build the mine on local Sámi community lands.

The Sámi people are from a region known as Sámpi (formerly known as Lapland); Sámpi spans portions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and parts of Russia. They are semi-nomadic, and rely heavily on reindeer herding.

In addition to funding worthy causes with award money, Thunberg has signed multiple book and movie deals, with proceeds going to climate action.

In 2018, she published Our House is On Fire, followed by No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference in 2019.

In 2020, her documentary film I am Greta premiered at the 77th Venice International Film Festival and was released on Hulu.

In 2021, she starred in Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World. In total, four episodes aired on Hulu and BBC One.

It has been said that Greta Thunberg has been "cashing in" on climate activism – thankfully, most of her money is earmarked for saving the planet.

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