DiCaprio and Bezos launch $200m drive to save endangered species

Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeff Bezos are working together on a $200 million (£149 million) initiative to save some of the world's most endangered species.

The Oscar-winning actor and Amazon founder have launched the Phoenix Species Project, committing $200 million to help 100 of the world's critically endangered species recover across 30 countries.

Half of that commitment comes from the Bezos Earth Fund, while the other $100 million (£74 million) comes from DiCaprio and Dr. Wes Sechrest's organisation Re:wild, with support from the Titanic star, Age of Union and the Todd Graves Family Foundation.

"For decades, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and conservation leaders have been on the front lines of protecting nature, and what has been made clear through research, is that species on the brink of extinction are often the ones that anchor some of the world's most important ecosystems," DiCaprio said in a statement. "When we protect those species, we also protect the forests, wetlands, grasslands and oceans they depend on.

"The Phoenix Species Project has the potential to drastically shift how we approach conservation and combat the climate crisis at a global scale. By creating the largest philanthropic initiative in history dedicated to the recovery of critically endangered species across continents, made possible by a transformative gift from the Bezos Earth Fund, we have an opportunity to make a lasting impact where it's needed most."

For decades, DiCaprio has been a vocal activist focused on the health of the planet, and he established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in the late '90s to promote environmental awareness.

The seeds for The Phoenix Species Project were planted when DiCaprio and Sechrest met Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, in 2021.

Working in collaboration with the IUCN Species Survival Commission, they have selected 100 species that span mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and plants, such as the Golden-crowned Sifaka, the Bowmouth Guitarfish and the Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander.