Ben Cohen, one half of the eponymous duo behind Ben & Jerry’s, has spent almost five decades arguing that businesses can make a profit and do good at the same time. Lately, he spends most of his time arguing that the brand carrying his own name has abandoned that idea entirely under its new ownership.
Cohen accuses the Magnum Ice Cream Co., the owner of Ben & Jerry’s, which was formed from a demerger with Unilever in 2025, of gutting the company’s independent board and starving its philanthropic arm. He’s launched a public campaign called “Free Ben & Jerry’s” that is pushing Magnum to sell the brand to more socially minded investors instead. It has so far gathered more than 200,000 signatures.
“We’re trying to keep Ben & Jerry’s soul alive,” Cohen tells Fortune. He claims Magnum is the wrong steward and risks damaging the brand’s long-term value. “They ain’t got no soul,” he adds. “The only mission these guys have is profit.”
It’s a characteristically bold gambit for the 75-year-old who has been arrested for civil disobedience multiple times—including at a recent Senate hearing—and speaks openly about his views on U.S. foreign policy and the use of economic and military leverage, positions he acknowledges most public companies steer clear of entirely.
