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.
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:
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
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
