As of March 12, 2020, Canada boasts 43 billionaires. The majority of Canada’s billionaires are men, with Sherry Brydson being one of the wealthiest women among these 43 Canadians.
Over the last year, the combined wealth of the top 10 richest Canadians hit a new high of $96.4 billion. It can be stated that the number of billionaires in Canada has doubled over the past decade, with the growth and increased profitability of large Canadian businesses and the expansion of successful startup enterprises thanks to technological advancements.
Below, we have highlighted the top 10 wealthiest individuals in Canada.
David Thomson and His Family
- Net worth: $35.1 billion
- Source of wealth: media
- Residence: Toronto
- Age: 63
Thomson Reuters saw a significant boost in operating profits of 60% in 2019, contributing to the increasing fortune of David Thomson. David Kenneth Roy Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet, is a Canadian hereditary peer and media investor. He chairs the media and publishing conglomerate Thomson Reuters Corp, originally founded by his grandfather, Roy Thomson. Additionally, Thomson’s family owns The Globe and Mail newspaper, holds a stake in Bell Canada, and has ownership in the National Hockey League’s Winnipeg Jets, as well as a minority stake in the Montreal Canadiens.
Joseph Tsai
- Net worth: $12.9 billion
- Source of wealth: e-commerce
- Residence: Hong Kong (Canadian citizen)
- Age: 56
Joseph Chung-Hsin Tsai, a Taiwanese-born Canadian billionaire businessman and philanthropist, co-founded the Chinese-based internet company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Over the past 20 years, he has served as CFO and executive vice-chairman of the board. Tsai also owns the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Liberty, and the San Diego Seals. He is the chairman of J Tsai Sports, which has invested in various sports media and technology enterprises.
Galen Weston and Family
- Net worth: $8.2 billion
- Source of wealth: retail
- Residence: Toronto
- Age: 80
Willard Gordon Galen Weston, a British-Canadian philanthropist and businessman, is the Chairman Emeritus of the leading food processing and distribution company George Weston Limited. He established the President’s Choice brands in 1984, and his holding company, George Weston Ltd., has acquired various other brands. The company now holds assets such as Holt Renfrew, Loblaw Companies Ltd., and Selfridges.
Weston was the third-generation head of George Weston, the Canadian food and retail giant founded by his grandfather in 1882. His son now oversees the company.
David Cheriton
- Net worth: $7.1 billion
- Source of wealth: Google
- Residence: Palo Alto, Calif. (Canadian citizen)
- Age: 69
David Cheriton was among the first angel investors in Google LLC. He is also the founder and CEO of Apstra, a company specializing in automating the layout and operations of data centers. Cheriton has also invested in VMWare Inc. and Arista Networks and founded Granite Systems and Kealia Inc., both acquired by leading tech companies. As an emeritus professor of computer science at Stanford, Cheriton made an early investment in Google, founded by hardworking Stanford graduate students. In addition to Google, he has co-founded three computer networking companies, including Arista Networks.
James Irving
- Net worth: $5.7 billion
- Source of wealth: diversified
- Residence: Saint John, New Brunswick
- Age: 92
James Irving is the owner of J.D. Irving Ltd, a sprawling business with more than two dozen companies, including those involved in retail, transportation, and frozen foods, among others. His family’s wealth has been passed down over multiple generations, with his father expanding the family’s assets by venturing into oil operations with Irving Oil Ltd. Although the company is controlled by his brother Arthur Irving, the two reportedly do not communicate.
Irving’s contributions to wood and forestry have seen over a billion trees planted since 1957, and the company holds the world record for the most trees planted, standing at 53,000 in an hour.
Huang Chulong
- Net worth: $5.6 billion
- Source of wealth: real estate
- Residence: Shenzhen, China (Canadian citizen)
- Age: 62
Residing in China, Canadian national Huang has experienced a $2 billion increase in net worth since last year. His privately held Galaxy Group has overseen the development of more than 538 million square feet of real estate in China. Huang Chulong accumulated his fortune through Galaxy Holding Group, a Chinese-based private real estate developer. At 62, he is now among the top 1,000 richest individuals globally. The company has been flourishing for 32 years, engaging in real estate development, hotel management, business operations, urban renewal, finance, and investment.
Jim Pattison
- Net worth: $5.2 billion
- Source of wealth: diversified
- Residence: Vancouver, British Columbia
- Age: 92
Jim Pattison is the founder of The Jim Pattison Group, the largest conglomerate in Canada with investments in a diverse range of sectors, including grocery store chains and the automotive industry. It is the second-largest privately owned company in Canada, boasting 45,000 employees and $10 billion in revenues in 2017.
Pattison leads the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation and contributed over $100 million to hospitals in Vancouver and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2018.
Chip Wilson
- Net worth: $5.2 billion
- Source of wealth: Lululemon
- Residence: Vancouver, British Columbia
- Age: 64
Dennis J. Chip Wilson, a Canadian billionaire, philanthropist, and businessman, has established numerous retail apparel companies, most notably the yoga-inspired athletic clothing company Lululemon Athletica Inc. and Westbeach Snowboard. He is recognized as a leader in the “athleisure” industry, which he delved into after attending his first yoga class at the age of 42. Although rejected from Lululemon’s board in 2015, he remains the company’s fourth-largest shareholder. Lululemon operates 140 stores outside of the United States.
Mark Scheinberg
- Net worth: $4.9 billion
- Source of wealth: online gambling
- Residence: Isle of Man (Canadian citizen)
- Age: 47
Mark Scheinberg immigrated from Israel to Toronto in his youth. At 28, he co-founded PokerStars with his father Isai in 2001. They established PokerStars, an online gaming site, and Mark, who already held 75% of the company, cashed out in 2014, pocketing over $3 billion in the process.
The company grew into the largest online poker company before the Scheinbergs sold it in 2014. Mark generated over $3 billion from the sale and used a portion of the proceeds to invest in the restoration of historic buildings in Madrid for personal and commercial purposes.
Emanuele (Lino) Saputo and Family
- Net worth: $4.3 billion
- Source of wealth: cheese
- Residence: Quebec City
- Age: 84
Saputo Inc. was founded in Montreal 65 years ago by Giuseppe Saputo and ranks as one of the top three cheesemakers in the United States, the premier dairy processor in Australia, and the largest producer of branded cheese in the United Kingdom. The entire Saputo family is estimated to be worth $10.2 billion, placing them among the top 10 wealthiest families in Canada. The company is currently headed by Lino Saputo Jr., named Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year in 2019. He is also the founder of Quartexx Management, an agency representing hockey players.
We trust that our insights into the latest top 10 wealthiest individuals in Canada will serve as inspiration for your business endeavors. If you have any further inquiries, please feel free to ask.
