Top 10 list of Canada’s wealthiest people

Canada ranks eighth among all countries with the most billionaires, according to Forbes’ latest annual list of the world’s wealthiest people. Overall, the media giant confirmed 67 Canadian billionaires in 2024, a slight jump from 62 from the previous year.  

These individuals boast a combined net worth of US$314.4 billion, almost US$78 billion more than that in 2023. Almost four-fifths of the people in the rankings are also richer compared to a year ago. 

If you’re interested to know who made the list of Canada’s wealthiest people, you’ve come to right place. In this article, Wealth Professional gives you the lowdown on the country’s richest individuals and families, so let’s get right into it.  

Who are the wealthiest people in Canada? 

To find out who the richest people in Canada are, the Wealth Professional research team combed through Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires rankings. This tool monitors the daily movement of the world’s wealthiest individuals. The wealth-tracking platform also provides ongoing updates on the net worth and ranking of each billionaire. 

Here’s the top 10 list of Canada’s wealthiest people. The numbers below are current as of March 5, 2025. Net worth is in US dollars.   

1. David Thomson and family 

Net worth: $73.7 billion 
Source: Media  
World ranking: 22 

David Thomson and his family holds the distinction of being the richest people in Canada. They control a media and publishing conglomerate founded by David’s late grandfather, Roy Thomson. It was the elder Thomson who turned a newspaper company into one of the largest publishing empires in the world.   

David took over the chairmanship of the Thomson Corporation from his father, Kenneth, in 2002. Kenneth led the company for almost three decades, making several key acquisitions over the years. In 2000, Kenneth sold the company’s newspaper business to focus on electronic data.  

It was David who landed the biggest deal in the organization’s history – acquiring global newswire Reuters for $17 billion in 2008. This paved the way for the creation of Thomson Reuters, which became a global powerhouse in the information business. As of the writing, Thomson Reuters is valued at around $80 billion.  

The Thomson family also owns Toronto-based newspaper Globe and Mail and has a stake in telecom giant Bell Canada. David is also the co-owner of the National Hockey League team Winnipeg Jets. 

2. Changpeng Zhao 

Net worth: $60.7 billion 
Source: Cryptocurrency exchange   
World ranking: 24 

China-born Changpeng Zhao, who also goes by the name CZ, founded the cryptocurrency exchange Binance in 2017. Binance rose rapidly to become the world’s largest crypto trading platform. From $7 billion in 2020, its market cap grew to around $90 billion at present.  

Zhao’s story, however, is not all roses. In 2023, he pled guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering in the US. He then resigned as Binance CEO and the company was fined $4.3 billion. Zhao spent time in prison but was released in custody in September 2024. Binance still faces federal security charges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Zhao retains a 90 percent stake in Binance, which accounts for a lion’s share of his wealth. 

3. David Cheriton 

Net worth: $14.3 billion 
Source: Google   
World ranking: 156 

Also known as Professor Billionaire, David Cheriton is a professor emeritus at Stanford University. The Vancouver-born computer scientist joined the list of Canada’s wealthiest people, thanks to an early investment in Google, which was then a small startup. Cheriton invested $100,000 in one of the company’s first funding. This investment would go on to be worth over $1 billion.  

Cheriton also founded several tech companies with German whiz and Google co-investor Andy von Bechtolsheim (now also a billionaire): 

• network configuration management platform Granite Systems (sold to Cisco in 1996) 
• server-tech company Kealia (sold to Sun Microsystems in 2004) 
• computer networking firm Arista (IPO in 2014) 

Cheriton’s stake in Arista is worth more than $5 billion. He now serves as chief data centre scientist at the networking hardware company Juniper Networks. 

4. Joseph Tsai  

Net worth: $11.7 billion  
Source: E-commerce   
World ranking: 202 

Taiwan-born Joseph Tsai cofounded the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba with the firm’s former chair Jack Ma. He remains the company’s second-largest individual shareholder after Ma. Tsai now serves as chairperson, leading Alibaba amid stricter regulations imposed by Beijing on big-tech firms.    

Tsai also has a significant presence in the sports industry. He owns or co-owns the following professional sports teams: 

• Brooklyn Nets (National Basketball Association) 
• New York Liberty (Women’s National Basketball Association) 
• San Diego Seals (National Lacrosse League) 
• Las Vegas Desert Dogs (National Lacrosse League) 

Last year, Tsai sold a minority stake at BSE Global, which is the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets, to fellow billionaire Julia Koch and her family. 

5. Jim Pattison  

Net worth: $11.3 billion  
Source: Diversified   
World ranking: 213 

Already in his late-90s, Jim Pattison continues to lead the Vancouver-based Jim Pattison Group. He founded the firm in 1961 as a car dealership. Today, his conglomerate operates more than 20 divisions in various industries, bringing in around $16 billion each year.  

Pattison’s holdings consist of: 

• Canfisco 
• Canfor 
• Coast Counties Peterbilt 
• Genpak 
• Great Wolf Lodge 
• Guinness World Records 
• Jim Pattison Lease 
• Montebello 
• Ocean Brand 
• Pattison Agriculture 
• Pattison Food Group 
• Pattison Go 
• Pattison ID 
• Pattison Media 
• Pattison Outdoor Advertising 
• Peterbilt Pacific 
• Ripley Entertainment 
• The Jim Pattison Auto Group 
• The Save Mart Companies 
• Universal Distribution 
• Vancouver Hino Truck Sales 
• Westshore Terminals 

One of Canada’s wealthiest people, Pattison donates 10 percent of his income to charity every year. He also pledged to give away half of his wealth during and after his lifetime.   

6. Tobi Lutke  

Net worth: $9.0 billion  
Source: E-commerce   
World ranking: 313 

In 2004, avid snowboarder Tobi Lutke, along with two of his friends, started Shopify to sell snowboards online but couldn’t find a decent platform to start their venture. Lutke, a brilliant software engineer, then decided to use his technical skills to develop a unified e-commerce system to start their business. The platform was then known as Snowdevil.  

Other online retailers noticed their platform and began asking about how to use it for their businesses. It was here that the friends realized the true value of their creation. In 2006, they transformed the software into a dedicated e-commerce platform called Shopify. It used open-source language that allowed businesses to create custom store templates.  

Very quickly, the platform caught the attention of businesses not just in Canada but also globally. Today, millions of e-commerce businesses worldwide run on Shopify, earning the company more than $7 billion each year. 

Lutke, who owns about 6 percent of the company, takes a symbolic $1 salary, but receives one of Canada’s largest stock-based compensation packages. 

7. Chip Wilson  

Net worth: $7.0 billion  
Source: Lululemon   
World ranking: 458  

Dennis “Chip” Wilson started Lululemon as a sports apparel store in Vancouver in 2000. He took the company public in 2007. It was then that the firm emerged as among the most popular athleisure brands in the world. Wilson stayed on as chairperson until 2013 when a series of bad PR, including controversial comments he had made about women’s bodies, caused him to resign. 

Wilson removed himself from the business completely in 2015. Still, he remains the athleisure giant’s biggest shareholder with an 8 percent stake, making him one of the wealthiest people in Canada.  

At present, Wilson and his wife, along with their five sons, operate Hold It All. The holding company invests in apparel, real estate, and private equity. Wilson also has stakes in Chinese activewear brands Anta and Amer. 

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8. Alain Bouchard 

Net worth: $6.4 billion 
Source: Convenience stores  
World ranking: 506 

In 1980, Alain Bouchard, along with three partners, built his convenience store conglomerate Alimentation Couche-Tard with a single branch in Québec. Today, the retail giant owns or franchises more than 14,000 stores worldwide.  

As president and CEO, Bouchard grew the business rapidly by acquiring competitors. He stepped down from the role in 2014 but continues to oversee the company’s $63 billion in annual sales as executive chair. Bouchard holds a 12.9 percent stake in his conglomerate, ranking him among Canada’s wealthiest people. 

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9. Ling Tang  

Net worth: $6.0 billion  
Source: Marketing software, mobile games   
World ranking: 559 

Ling Tang owns around 8 percent stake in AppLovin. The Palo Alto, California-based tech firm creates mobile games and provides marketing services to app developers. The company has a market cap of almost $110 billion. 

10. Stephen Smith 

Net worth: $5.8 billion 
Source: Finance and investments  
World ranking: 580 

Stephen Smith cofounded mortgage lender First National Financial in 1988, just four years after he personally experienced bankruptcy. The company went public in 2006. Smith remains the executive chair of the firm, where he holds an $800-million stake.  

Apart from this, Smith has built his wealth by betting against a mortgage market crash. He currently owns a 50 percent stake in Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company, the country’s largest private mortgage insurer. In 2023, Smith acquired mortgage lender Home Trust for around $1.2 billion and merged it with Fairstone Bank of Canada, one of his subprime lenders.  

Smith is also the largest shareholder in Equitable Bank, Canada’s seventh largest bank. The bank specializes in residential and commercial real estate lending.  

Here’s a summary of the top 10 wealthiest people in Canada. 

Canada’s wealthiest people: who’s next in the rankings 

If you’re wondering who among the wealthiest Canadians didn’t make it to our top 10, here’s a list of the country’s next-ranked billionaires. 

List of wealthiest Canadians: getting bigger and richer 

The number of ultra-rich Canadians has been growing steadily in recent years, many of whom have also been accumulating greater wealth. Forbes’ real-time data lists 67 Canadian billionaires, a 52 percent jump from 44 in 2020.  

Combined, Canada’s wealthiest people boast a net worth of almost $359 billion as of March 5, 2025, with the top 10 controlling almost $209 billion or 39 percent of the total. In 2020, the overall net worth of the country’s richest individuals was at $143 billion.  

While it might be far-fetched that you would be joining this elite list soon, with the right guidance you might be able to grow your wealth steadily. If you’re looking for the right people to guide you in your wealth-building journey, our Best in Wealth Special Reports page is the place to go.  

The companies and individuals featured in our special reports have been nominated by their peers and vetted by our panel of experts as trusted and reliable industry leaders. By partnering with these professionals, you know that your financial future is in good hands. 

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