Thursday, November 15, 2007

Al Gore and Kleiner Perkins to Finance Green Business

While one might think that former Vice President Al Gore has reached his peak with his recent Nobel Peace Prize and Academy Award winning documentary that started an environmental revolution, Gore disagrees. His newest foray into the environmental arena is taking a job at the prestigious venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. Gore will be working as a partner for the firm, advising which companies and technologies have the most environmental promise, the San Francisco Gate reports.

Gore's no stranger to seeking out sustainable investments; he co-founded Generation Investment Management with Goldman Sachs executive David Blood in 2004. Generation now has $1.5 billion in investments.

Gore insists it's not about the money. While those looking to complain might gripe about the salaries paid to such high profile investors, no need to worry here, Gore is putting his money where is mouth is. Gore will be donating his entire Kleiner Perkins salary to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a CA non-profit that advocates for policies to fight global warming.

As Kleiner Perkins plans to spend one-third of its $600 million investment fund on green technology startups next year, there's no denying the immense potential for this new relationship.

To learn more about this partnership click here.

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