Patagonia founder lived on $1 a day and cat food before making it—when he hit billionaire status, he was so angry he gave away his $3 billion company

Yvon Chouinard (Credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Disney+)

For many business leaders, joining the billionaires club is the ultimate badge of success—placing them among the ranks of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos.

However, for Yvon Chouinard, the founder of the outdoor apparel company Patagonia, being highlighted as a member of the ultrawealthy was “one of the worst days of his life.”