Greta Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist who has a net worth of $100 thousand. Greta Thunberg began advocating for climate change mitigation at the age of 15. A leading voice in the movement, she has addressed the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the Climate Action Summit, and has helped foster numerous school climate strikes worldwide. Thunberg has earned many honors for her work, including an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.
Early Life
Greta Thunberg was born on January 3, 2003 in Stockholm, Sweden to actor Svante and opera singer Malena. She has a younger sister named Beata. Thunberg first became aware of climate change at the age of eight in 2011; unable to understand why people weren’t treating it as an urgent threat, she fell into a depression and stopped talking and eating. She was soon diagnosed with OCD, selective mutism, and Asperger syndrome. For her education, Thunberg went to the private school Franska Skolan between 2010 and 2018. She subsequently transferred to Kringlaskolan.
Start of Activism
Thunberg struggled with her depression for a few years before she launched her school climate strikes, which evolved into an international climate change advocacy movement dubbed Fridays for Future. She vowed not to attend school until the 2018 Swedish general election, and demanded that her country’s government cut down on carbon emissions to comply with the Paris Agreement. To further her cause, Thunberg posted photos of her strike on Twitter and Instagram, gaining her international coverage. Later in 2018, she began participating in large demonstrations across Europe, and made several high-profile public speeches. After the Swedish general election, Thunberg continued to strike exclusively on Fridays, and inspired students from around the world to continue their strikes as well.
Major Protests and Speeches
Thunberg had her biggest platform yet when she spoke during the plenary session of the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Her speech, in which she vehemently denounced government inaction in response to climate change, went viral. Thunberg spent the following year ramping up her activism by taking part in numerous student protests and speaking at myriad forums and parliaments in Europe. Among them, she spoke at the World Economic Forum and addressed the British and French parliaments. Later in the year, Thunberg attended the United Nations Climate Action Summit. She also joined 15 other children at a UNICEF press conference, where they issued an official complaint against five countries failing to meet carbon emission reduction targets.
Among her other notable climate protests and speeches, Thunberg took part in protests throughout Canada and the United States, and gave keynote speeches as well. She also attended COP25; returned to speak at the World Economic Forum; and addressed the European Parliament’s Environment Committee. Thunberg continued her activism apace during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking to social media to call out various environmental injustices and the persistent inaction of world leaders. In 2021, she spoke at the COP26 conference in Glasgow.
Transatlantic Voyage
During her sabbatical year in 2019, Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic from Plymouth, United Kingdom to New York City, United States. She rode in the racing yacht Malizia II, which was equipped with underwater turbines and solar panels to create a carbon-neutral voyage. Overall, the journey took 15 days.
Social Impact
Thunberg’s outspoken activism has had a measurable effect on many nations’ attitudes toward climate change. In the 2019 European Parliament election, the Green parties posted their best results ever, with many of the gains coming from northern Europe where young people participated in protests inspired by Thunberg. Additionally, a YouGov poll in the UK revealed that public concern about environmental issues had skyrocketed since Thunberg rose to prominence; the publication and sales of children’s books about climate change were also significantly up.
Thunberg has also had an impact on air travel, as she has encouraged people to take the train instead of flying in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, Sweden reported a 4% drop in domestic air travel in 2019, and a rise in rail use. In 2021, a study found that people familiar with Thunberg and her views were more likely to take collective, concerted action to combat climate change and support environmental activism.
Media Appearances
Due to her high international visibility and influence, Thunberg has appeared in a wide range of media. She has been depicted in many large-scale murals, and was the inspiration for the children’s book “Greta and the Giants.” Some of her speeches have been used in music, including in songs by Megan Washington, Robert Davidson, and DJ Fatboy Slim. In 2020, Thunberg was featured as a fortune teller in the music video for Pearl Jam’s “Retrograde.” The same year, she was the subject of the Hulu documentary “I Am Greta,” directed by Nathan Grossman. In 2021, Thunberg was the subject of the three-part BBC documentary series “Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World.”
Accolades
Thunberg has been the recipient of myriad awards and honors in recognition of her activism. Among them, she has been named Swedish Woman of the Year and Time Person of the Year; received the Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society; and won the Rachel Carson Prize, the Laudato si’ Prize, the Ambassador of Conscience Award, the Geddes Environment Medal, and the International Children’s Peace Prize. Thunberg was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in three consecutive years. In 2020, she won the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity.
| Net Worth: | $100 Thousand |