A new global conservation initiative backed by Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos is aiming to help pull some of the world’s most threatened wildlife back from the brink of extinction.
PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 17: American businessman Jeff Bezos attends the 10th edition of the VivaTech technology startup and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, on June 17, 2026. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
According to Variety, DiCaprio’s conservation organisation Re and the Bezos Earth Fund have launched the Phoenix Species Project, a long-term initiative that will support the recovery of 100 critically endangered species across 30 countries.
The project represents an initial commitment of $200 million (around R3.7 billion), making it one of the largest philanthropic investments dedicated solely to preventing species extinctions.
Rather than funding short-term conservation projects, the Phoenix Species Project will provide sustained support for recovery programmes led by more than 100 local and international partners. These efforts will involve Indigenous Peoples, local communities, scientists and conservationists working together to restore species and the habitats they depend on.
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The initiative will focus on a wide range of wildlife and plant life, including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and plants living in ecosystems ranging from oceans to volcanic landscapes.
The Bezos Earth Fund will contribute $100 million after being introduced to the project through DiCaprio. Re will match that investment with support from DiCaprio, Age of Union and the Todd Graves Family Foundation.
The Phoenix Species Project also supports countries working towards Target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, an international goal aimed at halting human-driven extinctions and improving the conservation status of threatened species. The Reverse the Red Action Partnership and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission are among the organisations collaborating on the initiative.
Re was co-founded by DiCaprio and conservation scientist Dr Wes Sechrest in 2021 to protect biodiversity and restore vulnerable ecosystems around the world. The Bezos Earth Fund, chaired by Jeff Bezos with Lauren Sánchez Bezos serving as vice chair, funds environmental initiatives focused on protecting and restoring nature globally.
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