Kristine Tompkins, the former chief executive of Patagonia, has donated to the government of Chile 1 million acres of land she and her late husband, Doug Tompkins, owned in the country. The donation, which is being labelled as the world's largest donation of privately-held land, is part of a larger plan to grow Chile's national park lands by roughly 11 million acres. The donation was marked by a ceremony at Pumalín Park in the presence of the president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet. Chile has pledged to contribute and reclassify around 10 million acres of government-held lands for conservation. Doug Tompkins, who died in 2015, was a co-founder of The North Face and Esprit. His wife Kristine served as chief executive officer of Patagonia for 20 years. The couple moved to south Chile after she retired, in 1993. The Tompkins started buying and conserving land in South America, and according to a report in the Los Angeles Times, they personally invested $345 million in park projects and philanthropic work.

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