"The Billionaire Who Bought a Logging Company Just to Shut It Down and Save the Amazon
Sometimes, the most powerful decisions come from doing nothing at all. That’s exactly what Swedish billionaire Johan Eliasch did—by buying a logging company in the heart of the Amazon, only to shut it down for good.
The company owned 400,000 acres of pristine rainforest, and many expected Eliasch to continue the business of cutting down trees for profit. But instead, he chose preservation over profit. He halted every operation, locked the doors, and walked away—leaving the forest exactly as it was: wild, untouched, and alive.
Why? Because Eliasch believes some things are too valuable to put a price on. The Amazon isn’t just a forest—it’s a life force. It's home to millions of species, many yet undiscovered. It’s one of the planet’s largest carbon sinks, quietly fighting climate change every second of every day. It's the lungs of the Earth, and it’s running out of air.
Eliasch’s bold move wasn’t about headlines or heroics. It was about doing the right thing when no one else would. In a world driven by exploitation, he used his wealth to stop the machine—to draw a line in the soil and say, "This far, no further."
His decision has sparked a conversation and lit a path. He’s shown that protecting the planet doesn’t have to wait for politics or policy—it can begin with one person making one radical, courageous choice.
In the face of destruction, Johan Eliasch chose to protect, not profit. And sometimes, that’s the most powerful thing a person can do."
Sometimes, the most powerful decisions come from doing nothing at all. That’s exactly what Swedish billionaire Johan Eliasch did—by buying a logging company in the heart of the Amazon, only to shut it down for good.
The company owned 400,000 acres of pristine rainforest, and many expected Eliasch to continue the business of cutting down trees for profit. But instead, he chose preservation over profit. He halted every operation, locked the doors, and walked away—leaving the forest exactly as it was: wild, untouched, and alive.
Why? Because Eliasch believes some things are too valuable to put a price on. The Amazon isn’t just a forest—it’s a life force. It's home to millions of species, many yet undiscovered. It’s one of the planet’s largest carbon sinks, quietly fighting climate change every second of every day. It's the lungs of the Earth, and it’s running out of air.
Eliasch’s bold move wasn’t about headlines or heroics. It was about doing the right thing when no one else would. In a world driven by exploitation, he used his wealth to stop the machine—to draw a line in the soil and say, "This far, no further."
His decision has sparked a conversation and lit a path. He’s shown that protecting the planet doesn’t have to wait for politics or policy—it can begin with one person making one radical, courageous choice.
In the face of destruction, Johan Eliasch chose to protect, not profit. And sometimes, that’s the most powerful thing a person can do."
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In 2018, 22-year-old Grace Spence Green was walking through a shopping centre in London when a man landed on her and broke her spine.
The man had just jumped out of a third-floor window - and the impact left Grace paralysed from the chest down.
She woke up to find herself on the floor, with a body lying next to her. "I remember screaming and the sensation that I couldn't feel my legs," she says.
Grace was a medical student. She hadn't expected to end up as a spinal injury patient herself. But, she believes the bizarre accident has made her a better doctor.
As a trainee medic, Grace knew all about spinal injuries. Nonetheless, it took her a long time to accept what had happened to her.
"I just felt that, oh, I'm not one of them. I'm not disabled. I'm not going to be in a wheelchair. That's not me. They've got it wrong."
She often felt powerless, and unable to advocate for herself.
"It was very humbling suddenly being on the other side of the bed, how often I felt out of control of my situation, how often I felt like I didn't have any autonomy or any dignity."
She was sent to a rehabilitation unit, and gradually came to terms with the extent of her injuries. She also found camaraderie with other patients, like Vince, a scaffolder in his 40s:
"it's just a closeness that I haven't really experienced before because we've gone through this thing together, and now we call most days and he's coming to my wedding."
Grace also began to confront some of the prejudices she didn't know she'd had as a trainee medic - like the idea that disabled people had a lesser quality of life. Now, as a qualified doctor, she says her time in the spinal injury unit was the best placement she could have had:
"It taught me about dignity and autonomy... There's a real openness I find with patients, a kind of understanding I don't have to build."
As for the man who fell on her, Grace feels very little. "It feels like we were strangers, we collided, and we are just strangers again."
What she does know, is that by breaking his fall she somehow saved the man's life. So, rather than holding onto any anger towards him, she channels it into her biggest passion: advocating for change in the way society sees disabled people.
🎧 https://bbc.in/4knKQRp
The man had just jumped out of a third-floor window - and the impact left Grace paralysed from the chest down.
She woke up to find herself on the floor, with a body lying next to her. "I remember screaming and the sensation that I couldn't feel my legs," she says.
Grace was a medical student. She hadn't expected to end up as a spinal injury patient herself. But, she believes the bizarre accident has made her a better doctor.
As a trainee medic, Grace knew all about spinal injuries. Nonetheless, it took her a long time to accept what had happened to her.
"I just felt that, oh, I'm not one of them. I'm not disabled. I'm not going to be in a wheelchair. That's not me. They've got it wrong."
She often felt powerless, and unable to advocate for herself.
"It was very humbling suddenly being on the other side of the bed, how often I felt out of control of my situation, how often I felt like I didn't have any autonomy or any dignity."
She was sent to a rehabilitation unit, and gradually came to terms with the extent of her injuries. She also found camaraderie with other patients, like Vince, a scaffolder in his 40s:
"it's just a closeness that I haven't really experienced before because we've gone through this thing together, and now we call most days and he's coming to my wedding."
Grace also began to confront some of the prejudices she didn't know she'd had as a trainee medic - like the idea that disabled people had a lesser quality of life. Now, as a qualified doctor, she says her time in the spinal injury unit was the best placement she could have had:
"It taught me about dignity and autonomy... There's a real openness I find with patients, a kind of understanding I don't have to build."
As for the man who fell on her, Grace feels very little. "It feels like we were strangers, we collided, and we are just strangers again."
What she does know, is that by breaking his fall she somehow saved the man's life. So, rather than holding onto any anger towards him, she channels it into her biggest passion: advocating for change in the way society sees disabled people.
🎧 https://bbc.in/4knKQRp
BBC
Outlook - How a falling man changed my life forever - BBC Sounds
How a spinal injury made Grace Spence Green a better doctor
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