Six houses, nine cars, a fortune of 18 million, an annual income of two million and expenses reaching 100,000 dollars each month. This is not the lifestyle of a Hollywood star, but that of Greta Thunberg, according to several viral publications.
Screenshot of a table summarizing the young Swedish woman’s assets in support, Internet users are having fun and, above all, are indignant about a supposed inconsistency between her commitments against global warming and her lifestyle. These publications have been viewed several hundred thousand times, on Facebook or on X.
FAKE OFF
The screenshot shared on social media has been circulating on the Internet for several months now. It comes from an article published on a site called CAclubindia, which presents itself as an interactive platform for financial professionals and taxpayers. While the original article is currently no longer online, it can be viewed in an archived version here.
The information shared on this site is not reliable. As stated in the platform’s terms of use, there is no certification of the accuracy of this information: “Users of this website and members of CAclubindia have varying levels of knowledge; CAclubindia does not certify the accuracy of any information nor does it certify that any level of expertise relating to such information has been achieved.”
Another version of the original article is available online. It also contains a disclaimer stating: “Articles on this website are submitted by anonymous users and may contain information from social media platforms. We do not guarantee the accuracy of this information.” In other words, anyone can write whatever they want.
What do we know about Greta Thunberg’s heritage?
The activist created the “Greta Thunberg Foundation” in 2019, whose missions are “to work globally for a sustainable climate, a socially sustainable society, a good environment, the preservation of biodiversity, human rights and animal rights in the long term.” In the “Where the money goes” section of the foundation’s website, it is stated that “any amount related to the prizes or awards that Greta receives is donated to the Foundation,” and that “the Foundation donates all these funds to support causes in line with its mission.”
The section also allows you to consult the foundation’s activity reports (until 2022) and the list of the various donations made. The site also indicates in its FAQ section that Greta Thunberg does not earn money from her book The Climate Book [Le Grand Livre du climat, en français]whose copyright and income go to the foundation.
In an interview given to the newspaper The Times In October 2022, she also announced that the “profits” she would “earn” would be “donated to charity.”
Not from the Rothschild family either
In the various misleading articles and social media posts about Greta Thunberg’s assets, there is also a regular claim that the young woman is a descendant of the Rothschilds, a famous banking family. As AFP has already demonstrated, this claim that her great-grandfather was a banker named “Joachim Rothschild-Thunberg” is also false. Greta Thunberg’s mother is an opera singer, while her father and paternal grandfather had careers in cinema.
All our Fake off investigations here
This is not the first time that false information has circulated about the activist’s alleged fortune. Three years ago, 20 Minutes had already verified the rumor that Greta Thunberg was the “highest-paid activist in 2021”. This “fake news” came from a satirical site. In general, false claims about Greta Thunberg are numerous. 20 Minutes has already checked this several times, including here, here and here.