Earth Equity News

David Gelbaum: Green Venture Capitalist and Philanthropist. By Todd Woody, NYTimes, May 9, 2010. "There's not much that is business as usual about Mr. Gelbaum, an intensely private person who happens to be one of the nation's largest -- and largely unknown -- green technology investors and environmental philanthropists. Mr. Gelbaum has invested $500 million in clean-tech companies since 2002 through his Quercus Trust, amassing a portfolio of some 40 businesses involved in nearly every aspect of the emerging green economy, be it renewable energy, the smart electric grid, sustainable agriculture, electric cars or biological remediation of oil spills. He has poured almost as much into environmental causes. Working outside the clubby venture capital network, Mr. Gelbaum has, until recently, maintained an obsessively low profile. In Silicon Valley, he remains something of an unknown. Associates say his near-invisibility is owed to a genuine modesty and concerns over the security of his family because of his wealth. Recipients of his philanthropy, for instance, signed confidentiality agreements that forbade mention of his name.

"Mr. Gelbaum says he decided to break his long silence upon becoming chief executive in February of Entech Solar, one of his portfolio companies that is publicly traded. 'This is what's best for the company,' he says, pointing out that Entech benefits if he maintains a more public profile. It is too early to predict whether Mr. Gelbaum's big green bets will pay off. But he's been capitalizing on two trends: the rapid decline in the price of photovoltaic power, and a focus on cutting capital costs as solar power competition with China intensifies. His environmental philanthropy also gives him an influence beyond laboratories and boardrooms. He has given $200 million to the Sierra Club and $250 million to the Wildlands Conservancy, a land trust he co-founded that has acquired and preserved 1,200 square miles of land in California, including more than a half million acres of the Mojave Desert. Carl Pope, chairman of the Sierra Club, says he first met Mr. Gelbaum in 1992 when the financier called to talk about a state parks bond measure. That conversation led to others, and Mr. Gelbaum became the Sierra Club's largest individual benefactor, financing programs to help the environmental organization reach out to hunters and veterans, as well as to African-Americans, Hispanics and other groups. 'Many of the environmental justice programs we carried out have been his idea,' says Mr. Pope."