If you gathered all the wealth that billionaires currently have worldwide, you would have about US$14.2 trillion, according to Forbes Magazine. But what about in Canada alone?
Forbes’ annual list of the richest people in the world for 2024 includes 2,781 billionaires, with 141 people joining the list this year (including mega superstar Taylor Swift).
While the U.S. boasts the highest number of billionaires globally—813 worth US$5.7 trillion in aggregate—there are 67 in Canada, worth a total of US$316.6 billion. Seven of them are women, and nine are under the age of 50.
It does not appear to be an exhaustive list. Not included is the Weston family, for example, whose collective fortune totaled roughly $16 billion in 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The family’s namesake company, George Weston Ltd., reported $60.1 billion in revenue, that year.
Torontonian David Thomson, 67, and his family are the wealthiest Canucks, worth US$67.8 billion at the time of the list’s posting, and ranked 22 worldwide. They control Thomson Reuters Corporation, a publishing empire founded by Roy Thomson as well as owning The Globe and Mail newspaper.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, 47, founder and former CEO of Binance (a cryptocurrency exchange), is the second wealthiest Canadian, though he currently lives in Dubai. When Forbes published its world’s richest list in April, Zhao was worth US$33 billion, rounding the top 50 globally. As of June 29, Zhao jumped to the 25th wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of US$59.8 billion.
Though he lives in Palo Alto, Calif, professor emeritus at Stanford University, David Cheriton, 73, is the third wealthiest Canadian on the list, due to an early investment in Google. He is the 156th-richest person in the world at a net worth US$15.5 billion in April. Cheriton is currently worth US$12.6 billion.
Coming in fourth for the country is Jim Pattison, 95, in Vancouver, with US$9.3 billion. According to Forbes, he accrued his wealth through the Jim Pattison Group, which oversees 20 divisions, including food, entertainment and packaging. Pattison’s entertainment division includes Guinness World Records and the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!
Though Joseph Tsai, 60, lives in Hong Kong, he carries a Canadian passport. He caps off the five richest Canadians with US$8.5 billion, and he earned his wealth as a cofounder of Alibaba Group, a tech company specializing in e-commerce and retail.
Alain Bouchard, 75, from Montreal, cofounded a convenience store chain, Alimentation Couche-Tard, with more than 14,000 stores worldwide. When the list was published in April he was worth US$8 billion, but as of Saturday, he has US$7.3 billion.
Vancouver’s Anthony von Mandl, 74, earned his US$7 billion through Mark Anthony Brands, which created White Claw Hard Seltzer and Mike’s Hard Lemonade, while Dennis “Chip” Wilson raked in his US$6.8 billion through Lululemon. Meanwhile, Toronto’s Tobi Lutke, 43, accrued his US$6.9 billion as the cofounder and CEO of Shopify.
Arthur and James Irving, behind Irving Oil and J.D. Irving, respectively, both cracked the list this year, coming in as the 10th and 11th richest Canadians. However, the brothers died this year, one month after another.
These are the other Canadian citizens who cracked the world’s richest in 2024, ranked by their net worth at the time Forbes Magazine published its list:
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Mark Scheinberg, US$5.6 billion, PokerStars, currently living in Isle of Man, U.K. -
Peter Gilgan, US$5.5 billion, Mattamy Group Corp., Toronto -
Garrett Camp, US$5.1 billion, Uber Technologies Inc., currently living in San Francisco, Calif. -
Daryl Katz, US$5 billion, Katz Group, Edmonton -
Carlo Fidiani, US$4.8 billion, Orlando Corporation, Toronto -
Leonid Boguslavksy, US$4.7 billion, venture capitalist, currently lives in Florence, Italy -
Stephen Smith, US$4.4 billion, First National Financial, Toronto -
Mark Leonard and family, US$4.3 billion, Constellation Software, Toronto -
Emanuele “Lino” Saputo and family, US$4.3 billion, Saputo Inc., Montreal -
Jacques D’Amours, US$3.9 billion, Alimentation Couche Tard Inc., Montreal -
Lawrence Stroll, US$3.9 billion, fashion investments and Formula One team, currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland -
Bob Gaglardi and family, US$3.8 billion, Northland Properties, Vancouver -
Bruce Flatt, US$3.7 billion, Brookfield Asset Management, currently lives in London, U.K. -
Ryan Cohen, US$3.4 billion, GameStop investments and former CEO of Chewy, currently lives in Bal Harbour, Fla. -
Michael Latifi, US$3.4 billion, Sofina Foods, Toronto -
Barry Zekelman, US$3.4 billion, Zekelman Industries, Windsor, Ont. -
Jean Coutu and family, US$3.3 billion, Jean Coutu Group Inc., Montreal -
N. Murray Edwards, US$3.3 billion, oil and gas, currently lives in Saint Moritz, Switzerland -
Serge Godin, US$3.3 billion, CGI Group, Westmount, Que. -
Mitchell Goldhar, US$2.7 billion, SmartCentres, North York, Ont. -
Charles Bronfman, US$2.5 billion, Seagram, currently lives in Palm Beach, Fla. -
Stuart Hoegner, US$2.5 billion, Tether, Toronto -
Larry Tanenbaum, US$2.5 billion, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Toronto -
Bill Malhotra, US$2.2 billion, Claridge Homes, Ottawa -
Jack Cockwell, US$2.1 billion, real estate and private equity, Toronto -
Richard Fortin, US$2.1 billion, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Boucherville, Que. -
Clayton Zekelman, US$2.1 billion, Zekelman Industries, Windsor, Ont. -
Jay Hennick, US$1.9 billion, Colliers International, Toronto -
Hal Jackman, US$1.9 billion, E-L Financial Corporation, Toronto -
Max Lytvyn, US$1.9 billion, Grammarly, currently lives in San Francisco, Calif. -
Robert G. Miller, US$1.9 billion, Future Electronics, Montreal -
Pierre Karl Peladeau, US$1.9 billion, Quebecor, Montreal -
Alex Shevchenko, US$1.9 billion, Grammarly, currently lives in San Francisco, Calif. -
Stewart Butterfield, US$1.7 billion, Slack, currently lives in Aspen, Colo. -
V. Prem Watsa, US$1.7 billion, Fairfax Financial Holdings, Toronto -
Alan Zekelman, US$1.7 billion, Zekelman Industries, currently lives in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. -
Naomi Azrieli, US$1.6 billion, Azrieli Group, Toronto -
Sharon Azrieli, US$1.6 billion, Azrieli Group, Montreal -
Terrence “Terry” Matthews, US$1.6 billion, Mitel and Newbridge Networks, Ottawa -
Zhang Ning, US$1.6 billion, Red Avenue New Materials Group, currently lives in Shanghai, China -
Stephen Jarislowsky, US$1.5 billion, Jarislowsky & Fraser, Montreal -
Brandt Louie, US$1.5 billion, H.Y. Louie and London Drugs, Vancouver -
Catherine Phillips, US$1.5 billion, Shopify investor, Toronto -
John Phillips, US$1.5 billion, Shopify investor, Toronto -
Gerald Schwartz, US$1.5 billion, Onex, Toronto -
Ling Tang, US$1.5 billion, AppLovin investor -
Ivan Zhao, US$1.6 billion, Notion, currently lives in San Francisco, Calif. -
Michael Lee-Chin, US$1.4 billion, National Commercial Bank Jamiaca and AIC Limited, Burlington, Ont. -
Real Plourde, US$1.4 billion, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Westmount, Que. -
Huang Chulong, US$1.3 billion, Galaxy Group, currently lives in Shenzhen, China -
Pan Dong, US$1.3 billion, Blue Moon Group, currently lives in Hong Kong -
Guy Laliberte, US$1.2 billion, Cirque du Soleil, Montreal -
Michelle Zatlyn, US$1.2 billion, Cloudflare, currently lives in San Francisco, Calif. -
Michael Andlauer, US$1.1 billion, ATS Healthcare, Toronto -
Francesco Saputo, US$1.1 billion, Saputo Inc., Montreal -
Apoorva Mehta, US$1 billion, Instacart, currently lives in San Francisco, Calif.
