Across Prestel & Partner’s global network of family offices and Ultra High Net Worth Individuals, two powerful themes are converging, nature investing and intergenerational legacy. Increasingly, investors are asking not only how to preserve wealth, but how to deploy it in ways that will endure for their children, their communities, and the natural systems on which prosperity ultimately depends.
In a recent publication on legacy, Jeremy Leggett argues that these motivations could be channelled into something far more ambitious than a conventional fund. He proposes the creation of a new kind of investment vehicle, one explicitly designed to accelerate nature recovery while generating long-term economic value at scale.
The concept builds on the central idea of his Blue Planet Prize Commemorative Lecture, a brand-led investment company focused exclusively on what he calls the nature–prosperity pump. Unlike Virgin, whose brand spans multiple sectors, this new enterprise would start from scratch with a singular mission, backing businesses that restore ecosystems and strengthen economies simultaneously.
The opportunity lies in scaling currently embryonic markets, including nature recovery, sustainable forestry, advanced timber processing, timber construction, nature-based community enterprise, and the supply chains that connect them. With sufficient capital and strategic alignment, these sectors could help address defining global challenges, climate destabilisation, biodiversity collapse, the shortage of affordable zero-emissions housing, and the erosion of social cohesion.
The proposed company, launching in Q2 this year, will be called NatureProsperity.
Its ambition is unapologetically bold. NatureProsperity aims to build an iconic brand capable of serving as a rallying point for hope in a world that urgently needs one. If successful, it would not only help mitigate systemic risks but also emerge as an investment star in its own right, aligning planetary restoration with long-term financial performance.
A distinguished core group has agreed to help establish the venture, subject to raising kick-off capital in Q2. They include Paul Polman, Stephen Brenninkmeijer and Paddy Padmanathan, three eminent founding funders of Highlands Rewilding, alongside Professor John Schellnhuber, Director General of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. From day one, NatureProsperity intends to partner with IIASA, ensuring that world-class science and data underpin its strategy.
The vision is ambitious. But its proponents argue that the moment demands ambition. With the support of a founding club of family offices, UHNWIs and progressive institutions, NatureProsperity could move swiftly from concept to catalyst, transforming legacy from a passive inheritance into an active force for planetary renewal.
In an era defined by cascading crises, the creation of visible, credible beacons of hope may be not only desirable, but necessary.