Richard
Goldman is an American philanthropist and co-founder of the Goldman Environmental
Prize, often called the "Green Nobel Prize." One day he was reading
about Nobel prize winners in the newspaper and he wondered if there were similar
prizes for those who were working in the environmental field. When he found out
there weren't, he and his late wife Rhoda started the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Every year since 1990, six environmental heroes from all around the world each
receive a $125,000 no-strings attached award, and the international recognition
the prize now garners. In addition, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, which
the couple established in 1951, has given out nearly one-half billion dollars
to worthy causes.