What is Jerry Greenfield's net worth? Here's why co-founder of Ben & Jerry's quit the company

Jerry Greenfield announced his departure from Ben & Jerry's, co-founded with Ben Cohen 50 years ago, citing a loss of independence under Unilever's ownership.

Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen co-founded the renowned ice cream firm Ben & Jerry's around 50 years ago. However, Greenfield announced on Wednesday that he is leaving the company, citing "painful" reasons for doing so. In a statement posted by his co-founder on Twitter (now X) on Tuesday evening, the businessman and activist opened up about his exit. He explained that he had decided to leave the company due to what he believes is a loss of independence to continue pursuing the brand's goal of supporting "peace, justice, and human rights" under Unilever's ownership.

Jerry Greenfield said that the loss of independence was coming “at a time when our country's current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women and the LGBTQ community.” (AP)

“It's with a broken heart that I've decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry's. I am resigning from the company Ben and I started back in 1978. This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I've ever made,” he said in the statement. “This isn't because I've lost my love for the people at Ben & Jerry's. Quite the opposite. The folks who show up every day in our factories, scoop shops, and offices are some of the most passionate, caring, and values-driven people you'll ever meet. They are the soul of Ben & Jerry's.”

Net worth of Jerry Greenfield

According to some reports, Jerry Greenfield's net worth is between $145 and $150 million. However, there is no publicly available information to support this figure. The same goes for Ben, whom he met in seventh-grade gym class in Merrick, New York, on Long Island, in 1963.

Twenty-two years after its founding in Burlington, Vermont, Ben & Jerry's was purchased by Unilever for $326 million in 2000. At present, Magnum and Ben & Jerry's make up the heart of Unilever's $8 billion ice cream brand business.

Earnings from his co-founding of the renowned ice cream firm Ben & Jerry's, which he founded with Ben Cohen, contribute to Jerry Greenfield's 2025 net worth.

Jerry's displeasure with the firm, which has long been renowned for its unique and delectable ice cream flavors as well as its unwavering advocacy, was a major factor in both his choice and the statement itself. Most recently, the company's social media profiles and those of its co-founders have been vocal against Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, which an impartial United Nations investigation declared to be a genocide on September 16.

Full statement here

"What has made their work so important to me, and what allowed the company to be more than just an ice cream company, was the independence to pursue our values, which was guaranteed when Unilever bought the company. For more than twenty years under their ownership, Ben & Jerry's stood up and spoke out in support of peace, justice, and human rights, not as abstract concepts, but in relation to real events happening in our world. That independence existed in no small part because of the unique merger agreement Ben and I negotiated with Unilever, one that enshrined our social mission and values in the company's governance structure in perpetuity. It's profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone," Jerry stated in his statement. "It's happening at a time when our country's current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women, and the LGBTQ community. Standing up for the values of justice, equity, and our shared humanity has never been more important, and yet Ben & Jerry's has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power. It's easy to stand up and speak out when there's nothing at risk. The real test of values is when times are challenging and you have something to lose," he continued. "Love, equity, justice. They're part of who Ben and I are, and they've always been the true foundation of Ben & Jerry's. From the very beginning, Ben and I believed that our values and the pursuit of justice were more important than the company itself. If the company couldn't stand up for the things we believed, then it wasn't worth being a company at all. It was always about more than just ice cream; it was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice and a better world. Coming to the conclusion that this is no longer possible at Ben & Jerry's means I can no longer remain part of Ben & Jerry's. If I can't carry those values forward inside the company today, then I will carry them forward outside, with all the love and conviction I can," he concluded.