Canada is home to a surprising number of billionaires, and they've made their fortunes in everything from media and e-commerce to convenience stores and... cheese. (Yes, you read that right.)
From media moguls and cryptocurrency pioneers to the masterminds behind popular retail brands and convenience store empires, the country's richest people represent a wide range of wealth sources — and they've raked in billions along the way.
Perhaps the most shocking part, though, is that despite these Canadian billionaires having wealth beyond what most of us could ever imagine, most of them don't even crack the top 100 in the world. In fact, according to the latest numbers from Forbes' Real Time Billionaires List, even if the top 20 — yes, twenty — billionaires in Canada pooled their fortunes, their combined net worth would still fall over $7 billion short of the current richest person in the world, Elon Musk, who currently sits on $246.7 billion. Ouch.
So, who are these wealthy Canadians? Let's take a look at the current top 10 richest people in the country as of right now, according to Forbes, and how they made their billions.
David Thomson & family
Net Worth: $71.8 billion
Global Rank: #24
How He Made His Billions: David Thomson is the richest person in Canada with a net worth of $71.8 billion, which he shares with his family. The 67-year-old Toronto native and his family control a media and publishing empire founded by his grandfather Roy Thomson, including more than 310 million shares of Thomson Reuters — where Thomson himself serves as chairman.
Thomson is a part owner of the Winnipeg Jets NHL team, and his family also owns the Globe and Mail and holds stakes in Bell Canada and the Montreal Canadiens.
Changpeng Zhao
Net Worth: $57.6 billion
Global Rank: #26
How He Made His Billions: Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, is the second-richest person in the world, according to Forbes. The 47-year-old is the founder and former CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Born in China, CZ immigrated to Vancouver at age 12, where he helped support his family by flipping burgers at McDonald's and working overnight shifts at a gas station.
Zhao launched Binance in 2017 and retains a 90% stake in the company despite stepping down as CEO. Last year, he pled guilty to U.S. charges of fraud and money laundering and is awaiting sentencing.
David Cheriton
Net Worth: $14.1 billion
Global Rank: #134
How He Made His Billions: David Cheriton is a Stanford professor emeritus who made most of his fortune through an early $100,000 investment in Google. Born in Vancouver, Cheriton has degrees from the University of British Columbia and the University of Waterloo.
The 73-year-old known as "Professor Billionaire" co-founded several tech companies and now serves as the chief data centre scientist at Juniper Networks, which bought his company Apstra in 2021. According to Forbes, Cheriton is known for being frugal, having lived in the same Palo Alto home for 30 years and even cutting his own hair.
Jim Pattison
Net Worth: $9.1 billion
Global Rank: #279
How He Made His Billions: Jim Pattison is a Canadian businessman, investor and philanthropist. The 95-year-old Vancouver native built his wealth overseeing a massive conglomerate that operates 20 divisions across industries like packaging, food and entertainment, according to Forbes.
Pattison's business empire began with a GM dealership he bought in 1961. He now controls more than 50% of Canfor, a publicly traded forest products company, and owns Guinness World Records, the Ripley's Believe It Or Not! chain, and Canadian franchise rights for Great Wolf Lodge.
Joseph Tsai
Net Worth: $8.8 billion
Global Rank: #306
How He Made His Billions: Joseph Tsai is a co-founder of the Chinese multinational technology company Alibaba Group and its second-largest individual shareholder. In 2023, Tsai rose from vice chairman to chairman of the e-commerce giant.
A sports enthusiast, Tsai bought 49% of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team in 2018 and acquired the remaining 51% the following year. Though born in Taiwan, the 60-year-old holds Canadian citizenship and two degrees from Yale University.
Alain Bouchard
Net Worth: $7.2 billion
Global Rank: #402
How He Made His Billions: Alain Bouchard is the chairman and co-founder of the Quebec-based convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard. The 75-year-old Montreal native launched Couche-Tard in 1980 with a single store in Quebec and grew it into an international empire with over 16,000 locations worldwide.
Bouchard, who retired as CEO in 2014, remains executive chairman of the company that rakes in $63 billion in sales annually. Known for rapidly expanding through acquisitions, Couche-Tard's notable purchases include Circle K in 2003 and CST Brands in 2017.
Anthony von Mandl
Net Worth: $6.8 billion
Global Rank: #447
How He Made His Billions: Anthony von Mandl is the mastermind behind two of North America's favourite drinks — White Claw Hard Seltzer and Mike's Hard Lemonade. The 74-year-old Vancouver native's rise to billionaire status started humbly, selling wine out of the trunk of his car in Vancouver in the 1970s at the age of 22.
Today, he owns six wineries in Canada, including the famous Mission Hill Winery in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley. In 2016, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Tobi Lutke
Net Worth: $6.4 billion
Global Rank: #484
How He Made His Billions: Tobi Lutke is the German-Canadian co-founder and CEO of Shopify, the Canadian e-commerce giant that powers online stores for over two million businesses, including big names like Kylie Cosmetics and Allbirds.
The 44-year-old moved to Canada in 2003 after meeting his now-wife on a snowboarding trip in Whistler, B.C. He co-created Shopify after struggling to find decent software for an online snowboard shop he and a friend wanted to launch. Today, Shopify generates over $7 billion in revenue, and Lutke still owns around 6% of the company.
Peter Gilgan
Net Worth: $6.4 billion
Global Rank: #493
How He Made His Billions: Peter Gilgan is the CEO and chairman of Mattamy Homes, which he founded in 1978. The company has since built over 100,000 homes, making it the largest privately owned homebuilder in North America.
The 74-year-old Toronto native, who grew up in a middle-class family, was inspired by the New Urbanism movement to create more personalized suburban communities, according to Forbes. Named after his two oldest children, Matt and Amy, Mattamy Homes now generates $4.1 billion in revenue.
Mark Scheinberg
Net Worth: $5.6 billion
Global Rank: #563
How He Made His Billions: Mark Scheinberg is an Israeli-Canadian businessman who co-founded PokerStars with his father in 2001, building it into the world's largest online poker company before selling it in 2014 for over $3 billion.
Born in Israel and raised in a Toronto suburb, Scheinberg has since turned his focus to luxury real estate investments through his company, Mohari. His portfolio includes stakes in the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and high-end hotels in Madrid and Costa Rica. In 2023, he also acquired Tao Group Hospitality, which operates over 80 restaurants and clubs worldwide.
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