Blackstone CEO Is Driving Force Behind Amazon Deforestation
▻https://theintercept.com/2019/08/27/amazon-rainforest-fire-blackstone
The companies have wrested control of land, deforested it, and helped build a controversial highway to their new terminal in the one-time jungle, all to facilitate the cultivation and export of grain and soybeans. The shipping terminal at #Miritituba, deep in the Amazon in the Brazilian state of #Pará, allows growers to load soybeans on barges, which will then sail to a larger port before the cargo is shipped around the world.
The Amazon terminal is run by #Hidrovias do Brasil, a company that is owned in large part by Blackstone, a major U.S. investment firm. Another #Blackstone company, #Pátria_Investimentos, owns more than 50 percent of Hidrovias, while Blackstone itself directly owns an additional roughly 10 percent stake. Blackstone co-founder and #CEO #Stephen_Schwarzman is a close ally of Trump and has donated millions of dollars to McConnell in recent years.