Just in time for Earth Day today, Forbes business magazine has chosen Israel’s banking heiress Shari Arison as one of the world’s greenest billionaires.
Arison joins Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Germany’s billionaire Aloys Wobben, among others.
With a personal net worth of a cool $3.4 billion, Arison is a huge believer that sustainability and profitability go hand in hand.
Her family name is most well-known around the world for Carnival Cruiselines, established by her father Ted in the United States. She’s published a memoir Birth: When the Spiritual and the Material Come Together where she spells out how businesses should benefit both the investor and the broader community.
Arison has developed businesses around this philosophy, and maintains that the companies’ bottom line is her driver. She is now planning on making her public construction company, Shikun & Binui, 100% sustainable by using solar power, water desalination and recyclable materials, within the next five years, according to Forbes.
Arison’s water company Miya, launched in 2007 aims to reduce leaks in underground water pipes in cities and urban areas and it is slated to be part of upcoming collaboration between Israel and Brazil.