Lukas Walton, the heir to Walmart, has made a significant move by opening up his climate-focused investment firm, S2G, to outside investors for the first time. The firm has raised $600 million in outside funding, adding to the $3 billion that Walton has already invested in S2G and other projects through his umbrella organization, Builders Vision. S2G, founded in 2014, now holds $2.5 billion in assets and has a portfolio of over 100 companies working on sustainability-focused initiatives such as green cement production, increasing food shelf life, and water purification with nanobubbles.
Walton founded Builders Vision in 2021 as an organization for his investment, philanthropic, and advocacy efforts. The group aims to address major global challenges such as climate change, sustainable farming, clean energy, and ocean conservation. Walton expressed the importance of catalyzing capital into innovative solutions to tackle these issues and is actively working towards promoting positive change. While he did not elaborate further on the recent fundraising, Builders Vision’s president Matt Knott emphasized the need for additional investors and philanthropists to collaborate on addressing trillion-dollar challenges.
Chicago-based S2G announced the launch of S2G Investment Advisers, a registered investment advisor and standalone business that will continue to be owned and invested in by Walton. The newly formed firm, S2G Solutions Fund 1, will focus on private-equity investments to support projects benefiting the planet and human health. Managing partners Aaron Rudberg, Sanjeev Krishnan, and Chuck Templeton will remain at the helm, leading the firm through its next phase of growth. S2G partners expressed their commitment to expanding capacity to further support sustainability initiatives but declined to provide additional details at this time.
Walton, a grandson of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, inherited his fortune following his father’s untimely death in 2005. He has a long-standing focus on sustainability and environmental advocacy, serving as the environment program committee chair at the Walton Family Foundation. Builders Vision highlighted its impact in an impact report last fall, which included the development of over 170 sustainable products and technologies. The organization has facilitated the installation of 15,685 megawatts of renewable energy capacity, equivalent to powering entire states, and has also contributed to removing or preventing over 4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
The steps taken by Lukas Walton and his organizations underscore a commitment to addressing pressing global challenges through innovative and sustainable solutions. By opening S2G to outside investors, Walton is seeking to amplify the impact of his investments on climate-focused initiatives and promote positive change on a larger scale. With a diverse portfolio of companies and projects, S2G and Builders Vision are actively working towards creating a more sustainable future for the planet and humanity, drawing attention to the importance of collaboration and collective action in addressing complex environmental issues.
