Canada's richest people in 2025 were revealed and some billionaires don't have degrees

You don't need a university degree to be a billionaire! 🤑

chip wilson speaking at an event. right: garrett camp with a rhino

Chip Wilson. Right: Garrett Camp.

Senior Writer

A new ranking of Canada's billionaires for 2025 was recently released.

It turns out that a few of the richest people in Canada don't have university degrees!

Forbes shared the 2025 World's Billionaires List on April 1 which revealed who the richest people are and how much money they're worth.

There are more Canadian billionaires this year than last year.

According to Forbes, there are 76 billionaires in Canada in 2025, up from 67 in 2024 and 63 in 2023.

These are the top 10 richest people in Canada this year and their net worths:

  1. Changpeng Zhao — $62.9 billion
  2. Sherry Brydson — $16.7 billion
  3. David Cheriton — $14.3 billion
  4. Joseph Tsai — $12.1 billion
  5. Jim Pattison — $11.4 billion
  6. David Thomson — $10.2 billion
  7. Taylor Thomson — $10.2 billion
  8. Peter Thomson — $10.2 billion
  9. Tobi Lutke — $8.9 billion
  10. Linda Campbell — $8 billion

You might think that these billionaires have bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and PhDs.

While some do, there are a few of the richest people in Canada who made their billions without a university degree.

So, here are the degrees — if any — that some of Canada's billionaires have, according to Forbes.

David Cheriton

Rank: 163rd in the world

Net worth: $14.3 billion

Education: Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of British Columbia, a doctorate form the University of Waterloo, and a Master of Science from the University of Waterloo

Joseph Tsai

Rank: 195th in the world

Net worth: $12.1 billion

Education: Bachelor of Arts and Science from Yale University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Yale University

David Thomson

Rank: 264th in the world

Net worth: $10.2 billion

Education: Master of Arts from the University of Cambridge

Tobi Lutke

Rank: 337th in the world

Net worth: $8.9 billion

Education: Dropped out of school at 16 years old

Chip Wilson

Rank: 498th in the world

Net worth: $6.8 billion

Education: Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Calgary

Mark Scheinberg

Rank: 581st in the world

Net worth: $6 billion

Education: Dropped out of Fanshawe College

Daryl Katz

Rank: 605th in the world

Net worth: $5.8 billion

Education: Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Alberta and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Alberta

Stephen Smith

Rank: 605th in the world

Net worth: $5.8 billion

Education: Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Queens University

Anthony von Mandl

Rank: 620th in the world

Net worth: $5.7 billion

Education: Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of British Columbia

Bruce Flatt

Rank: 639th in the world

Net worth: $5.5 billion

Education: Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Manitoba

Leonid Boguslavsky

Rank: 688th in the world

Net worth: $5.2 billion

Education: Master of Science from the Moscow Institute for Transport Engineering

Mark Leonard and family

Rank: 688th in the world

Net worth: $5.2 billion

Education: Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Guelph and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario — Richard Ivey School of Business

Bob Gaglardi and family

Rank: 700th in the world

Net worth: $5.1 billion

Education: Bachelor of Engineering from Letourneau College

Garrett Camp

Rank: 717th in the world

Net worth: $5 billion

Education: Master of Science from the University of Calgary

Emanuele (Lino) Saputo and family

Rank: 902nd in the world

Net worth: $4 billion

Education: High school diploma

Barry Zekelman

Rank: 1072nd in the world

Net worth: $3.4 billion

Education: Dropped out of York University

Serge Godin

Rank: 1265th in the world

Net worth: $2.9 billion

Education: Master of Business Administration from Laval University

N. Murray Edwards

Rank: 1305th in the world

Net worth: $2.8 billion

Education: Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Saskatchewan and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Toronto

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

  • Senior Writer

    Lisa Belmonte (she/her) is a Senior Writer with Narcity Media. After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), she joined the Narcity team. Lisa covers news and notices from across the country from a Canada-wide perspective. Her early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned Narcity its first-ever national journalism award nomination.

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