Is the world’s richest billionaire the Amazon Rain Forest?  

No, Bernard Arnault and his family are according to the latest Forbes list of richest people with an estimated $233 billion.  

But a cover takeover campaign from Brazilian cosmetics firm Natura and its ad agency Africa Creative (part of Omnicom’s BBDO Worldwide) in collaboration with Forbes is designed to remind people how rich in resources the Amazon Rain Forest ecosystem is and why it's worth preserving.  

The cover-on-a-cover notes that the World Bank’s valuation of the Amazon Rain Forest is $317 billion.  

The online version of the cover takeover appears today. The print version will be released on May 10.  

Natura’s campaign comes as the brand is celebrating its 55th anniversary. The cosmetics company has a range of beauty and personal care products, including skincare, haircare, perfumes, makeup, and body care items. Many of its products are formulated using natural ingredients sourced from the Amazon rainforest.  

According to the company, over the last two decades it has worked with local communities to harvest bioactive ingredients for cosmetics to help demonstrate why preserving the forest is more profitable than exploiting it. It further claims those efforts have led to the preservation of an estimated 5 million acres of forest and have positively impacted the lives of more than 10,000 families.  

The campaign points out that the standing forest is worth seven times more than the potential earnings from its destruction.  

“Over more than 20 years of intense work in the Amazon, we have had the privilege of demonstrating to Brazil and the world that it is possible to respect the region's socio-biodiversity and value the knowledge of traditional communities through regenerative practices”, said Natura CMO and global head of Innovation Tatiana Ponce.