We’ve picked out the richest Canadians on the planet, using data from the Forbes 2019 Billionaire List. From the founder of one of the world’s biggest athletic clothing companies, to a media mogul at the head of a multi-billion dollar empire, these entrepreneurs have climbed their way to the top in many different trades – check out their success stories.
He may have been born in South Africa, but Jack Cockwell has made his fortune and livelihood in Canada. He trained as an accountant before acquiring holdings in forestry, mining and real estate, deals which went on to become Brookfield Asset Management. The business now has an impressive C$755 billion ($540bn/£441bn) in assets, although it is controlled by fellow billionaire Bruce Flatt, who took over in 2002.
Terence Matthews' dual Welsh-Canadian citizenship helped him earn the accolade of being Wales' first billionaire, as well as being one of Canada's richest people. He earned his wealth through roles at telecoms companies Mitel and Newbridge Networks. Matthews left Mitel in December 2018, after the company was sold for C$2.8 billion ($2bn/£1.6bn). He also has an investment firm, Wesley Clover International, and claims to have founded or funded more than 100 companies.
Adding to the number of billionaires on this list who made their money through property, K (Kuldip) Rai Sahi is the CEO of Morguard Corporation, a real estate firm. As well as managing the company's C$30 billion ($21.3bn/£17.4bn) portfolio of commercial and residential properties, the billionaire who emigrated to Canada from India in the 1970s is also CEO of ClubLink enterprises, Canada's largest golf club operator.
You may not have heard of Dani Reiss but you'll almost definitely have heard of Canada Goose, the outerwear brand he founded in 2001. Despite the fact that many of the jackets sell for more than C$1,000 ($713/£584), they've been a hit with customers, thanks to their high-quality production and the support of celebrity fans. However, the firm has also come under fire for its use of coyote fur in coats, which has generated backlash from animal rights activists. Canada Goose went public in 2017 but Reiss owns around 18% of the stock.
As CEO of Brookfield Asset Management, the company founded by fellow billionaire Jack Cockerell, Bruce Flatt is in charge of C$755 billion ($540bn/£441bn) worth of assets in more than 30 different countries. He's also made some high-profile deals, including buying London's Canary Wharf and Olympia & York.
Stephen Smith earned his way onto the billionaires list thanks to an impressive career in finance, including co-founding First National Financial of which he is currently CEO. He's secured some pretty huge deals in his time, notably the purchase of half of Walmart in 2018. Not one to keep all his money to himself, the businessman donated C$70 million ($50m/£41m) to the Queens School of Business in 2015, which was subsequently renamed after him.
At the age of just 38, Peter Szulczewski is one of the youngest self-made billionaires on the planet, as well as making it onto Canada's rich list. He worked at Google for almost four years before starting ContextLogic, the low-cost online shopping site which went on to be called Wish. In 2018, Wish was the most-downloaded shopping app in the world and the company was valued at C$15.7 billion ($11.2bn/£9.1bn) in August 2019. Currently, he's the firm's CEO as well as owning an 18% stake in the business.
Norman Murray Edwards raked in the big bucks from his clever stakes in Canadian oil and mining companies such as Canadian Natural Resources and aerospace firm Magellan. Originally a lawyer, he moved into business after he promised a dying friend that he would always follow his passions.
Owner of Onex, one of Canada’s largest private equity firms, Schwartz has worked with some of the biggest buyout legends in history, such as Henry Kravis and Jerome Kohlberg. He is now chairman and CEO of the firm and manages a staggering C$53 billion ($38bn/£31bn) in assets. In May 2019, Onex bought Calgary-based airline WestJet for C$3.5 billion ($2.5bn/£2bn).
Stephen Jarislowsky gives his name to the investment fund he created, Jarislowsky Fraser, which manages portfolios of pension funds, foundations, corporations and individuals. While the magnate may have stepped down from his role as CEO back in 2012, he remains chairman emeritus of the company. Nowadays, he focuses on the Jarislowsky Foundation, of which he is President, which has donated more than C$308 million ($220m/£180m) to universities and has established 40 university chairs across Canada.
Another fresh-faced billionaire, Tobi Lutke, founder and CEO of Shopify, is just 39 years old. He started the ecommerce site a decade ago with the aim of making it easier for businesses to sell online, and now it is used by more than 1 million businesses worldwide, making more than C$1.4 billion ($1bn/£843m) in revenue for 2018. In 2015, the company went public, although Lutke holds onto a 6.7% stake.
Number 1,349 in Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires in 2019, Hal Jackman and his family may not be the richest people in the world, but they certainly have a healthy bank balance. Jackman is the largest shareholder of investment and insurance company E-L Financial Corporation, which was started by his father Harry Jackman. Now in the family for three generations, E-L Financial Corporation is currently headed up by Hal's son Duncan.
Media mogul Pierre Karl Péladeau is at the forefront of Quebecor, a broadcasting company which includes Le Journal de Montréal. Not only that, he's also done a one-year stint in politics as leader of the Parti Québécois, which advocates for Québec's independence from Canada. He returned to Quebecor as CEO in 2017 and has remained there since.
In joint 24th place, D’Amours made his fortune in retail, after co-founding the convenience store Alimentation Couche-Tard back in 1980. Fortunately for his bank balance, the store completely took off, overtaking some of its main competitors. Couche-Tard now has a global network of more than 14,800 stores and D'Amours, who retired as VP of administration in 2014, still sits on the company's board.
Although he's lived in Canada for the majority of his life, Michael Lee-Chin has African, Chinese and Jamaican heritage, which may have influenced his global entrepreneurship. Under his management, The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) went from managing US$1 million in assets in 1987, to managing more than US$10 billion in assets in 2002. Despite the fact that the firm was sold in 2009, Lee-Chin has had a healthy supply of wealth thanks to a majority stake in the National Commercial Bank Jamaica.
Founder of tech firm CGI Group, Godin was just 26 when he started the firm in 1976, which quickly grew from just two employees to 1,200 after 10 years, and nowadays it employs 74,000 people. Godin, now aged 71, stepped down as CEO and President in 2006, although he remains as Executive Chairman of the Board.
Carlo Fidani generated his fortune from retail after investing in Orlando Corp, the Toronto-based real estate company that he took over from his father back in 2000. He’s the third in his generation to run the business, which manages a number of industrial, commercial real estate throughout Toronto. Not only that but he has many philanthropic interests, and has the Carlo Fidani Foundation which has helped many medical causes (pictured, the Carlo Fidani Regional Cancer Center in Ontario which was named in his honour).
Liquor magnate Charles Bronfman found his fortune when he and his brother sold their family’s Seagram spirits empire for US$34 billion in 2000. Since then, he has still retained his billionaire status, but has removed himself from the firm and now concentrates his efforts on writing books and philanthropy.
Founder of pharmacy giant Jean Coutu Group in 1969, Couto’s company now has more than 400 stores across Canada. However, in October 2017 the now 92-year-old businessman agreed to sell his company to supermarket Metro for approximately C$4.5 billion ($3.2bn/£2.6bn).
Press-shy billionaire Robert Miller, who's only given a handful of interviews and is rarely photgraphed, is worth C$3.3 billion ($2.4bn/£2bn). That's thanks to his electronics distribution company, Future Electronics, which he co-founded in 1968. He bought out his co-founder in 1976, and has since grown the firm to global scale, operating in 44 countries.
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Founder of SmartCentres, the firm that has developed hundreds of shopping centers across Canada, Mitchell Goldhar managed to convince Walmart to open its first store in one of his centers. He is one of the firm’s largest shareholders and sold most of SmartCentre’s assets to SmartREIT for C$1.2 billion ($880m/£718m) in 2015.
Another billionaire magnate to have amassed his fortune from the vast world of property, Gilgan is arguably one of the biggest homebuilders in Canada. His firm, Mattamy Homes, has worked with over 90,000 customers, building suburban, unique dwellings. Gilgan hasn’t stashed all his fortune though. He's also a notable philanthropist, having given away more than C$260 million ($185m/£152m) through the Peter Gilgan Foundation.
Bob Gaglardi and his son, Tom Gaglardi, have been on a bit of a roll in the past few years. After growing their property portfolio business for several decades, in 2016 the father and son duo opened the first branch of Moxie's restaurants outside of Canada. Plus, the NHL team Dallas Stars, which they purchased in 2011, has risen to major success – along with big boosts to ticket sales.
Real estate magnate Chulong has amassed his billions through Galaxy Group, the private real estate developer based in China which includes hotels, office leasing and shopping malls. At age 61, Canadian citizen Chulong is among the 1000 richest people in the world.
Son of industrialist K C Irving, Arthur co-owns the family firm, Irving Group of Companies, and the family has 100% ownership of Irving Oil, which runs a number of gas stations and oil refineries. The 90-year old comes in at 667 on the 2019 list of the world’s billionaires.
Alongside Jacques D’Amours, Alain Bouchard co-founded convenience store Alimentation Couche-Tard and is 568th on the world's billionaires list. Until September 2014, Bouchard served as president and CEO and expanded the business by snatching up competitors. He is now executive chairman, but still oversees the C$52 billion ($37bn/£30bn) company.
Founder of the web-discovery platform, StumbleUpon, Garret Camp started his journey towards billionaire status when he set up the firm as a graduate in 2002, and then sold it for C$100 million in 2007. The money has continued to roll in after the business investor co-founded on-demand car service Uber in 2009, which is currently worth around C$49 billion ($35bn/£28.5bn).
Founder of Canadian cheese manufacturer Saputo, Inc, Emanuele is the seventh richest man in Canada. Saputo grew up with a cheesemaker father, who was from Sicily, Italy, and inherited the family dairy company in 1969. He retired in 2017.
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Computer scientist Cheriton, also known as “Professor Billionaire”, teaches at Stanford University and kickstarted his billions through an early US$100,000 investment in Google. He is also an angel investor in several tech companies and runs IT firm OptumSoft.
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The fifth richest Canadian, 91-year-old Jim Pattison is the sole owner of the Jim Pattison Group, which owns a variety of companies and products including radio stations, media companies, grocery store chains and advertising companies. Despite being in his 90s, the businessman, who's been nicknamed "Canada's Warren Buffett", reportedly still goes to work each day and shows no sign of stopping.
The third richest person in Canada, Galen Weston has earned his billions from his food distribution company Weston Foods. If that wasn’t enough of an income stream, Weston also heads up luxury goods retailers Holt Renfrew of Canada, Selfridges of the UK, Brown Thomas of Ireland, the De Bijenkorf department store chain in the Netherlands and the Ogilvy department store in Montreal. His son Galen Jr (pictured) is now taking over the helm, running several of his father's businesses.
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Media tycoon David Thomson is not only the richest in Canada, but also one of the richest people in the world. Coming in at number 27 on Forbes' Billionaires list 2019, Thomson is the 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet and has been chairman of the hugely successful Thomson Corporation since 2006, following the death of his father. The family also own stakes in telecom company Bell Canada.
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