DiCaprio and Bezos Commit $200M to Save 100 Species

The world's most endangered species just got a powerful new lifeline, and it comes with a $200 million commitment.

Leonardo DiCaprio's Re:wild foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund announced the Phoenix Species Project this week, directing an unprecedented level of funding toward 100 critically endangered species across the globe. The initiative represents the largest single conservation fund ever created exclusively for species recovery.

The project targets creatures facing imminent extinction, from Madagascar's golden-crowned sifaka lemurs to Australia's long-lost night parrots. Tiny Hickory Nut Gorge green salamanders in North Carolina made the list, along with Tanzania's pancake tortoise, ancient bowmouth guitarfish, and pink land iguanas.

The partnership started in 2021 when DiCaprio and Re:wild CEO Wes Sechrest met with Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos. That conversation sparked years of meetings with local governments, environmental groups, and Indigenous communities about how to reverse species decline at scale.

What emerged was a fund designed to solve a critical problem: conservation groups doing effective work on shoestring budgets. These organizations have proven they can protect endangered species, but they've been operating in constant survival mode without enough resources to expand their impact.

The Ripple Effect

The funding is already changing what's possible on the ground. Association Fanamby, which protects Madagascar's golden-crowned sifaka, has worked for years on a budget that never matched the urgency of the threat. Executive director Tiana Andriamanana said the new support, global platform, and technical resources "change what is possible."

That sentiment captures the heart of the initiative. Dozens of conservation groups have held the line protecting vulnerable species despite inadequate funding. The Phoenix Species Project gives them the financial foundation to move from barely holding on to actually achieving measurable recovery.

The fund supports organizations across multiple continents and ecosystems, from remote Australian deserts to small canyons in North Carolina to the waters surrounding endangered guitarfish. Each group brings proven conservation methods and deep local knowledge. Now they have the resources to match the scale of their mission.

The initiative takes its name from the mythical bird that rises from ashes, a fitting symbol for species facing extinction without immediate intervention. DiCaprio and Bezos are betting that with sustained, serious funding, these 100 species can experience their own phoenix moment and recover for future generations.