BC Business
One of these B.C. billionaires also claimed the title of the richest Canadian (aside from Elon Musk, of course)
Forbes magazine’s annual billionaire list is back, and we’re always proud to see fellow Canadians make the cut. This year sees 3,028 billionaires from around the world on the list, a huge step up from the 2,781 from 2024. Out of the 3,028 named, there are 76 Canadians, with 20 residing in Toronto and 13 from Montreal. Six Vancouverites have also made their way onto the list, with one of them taking the title of the richest Canadian in the world.
Founder and former CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao comes in 24th place this year. The 48-year-old Chinese-Canadian founded Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, in 2017 and stepped down in November 2023. Currently, he is a “self-described passive investor in crypto” who enjoys spending time with his family. He can now also add “richest Canadian in the world” to his list of titles (besides Elon Musk, but Forbes listed him as American), standing tall with a net worth of $62.9 billion.
Coming in as the second richest Vancouverite is “Professor Billionaire” David Cheriton. He earned his riches in 2001, when he was approached by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to fund a new company—you guessed it, Google. His $100,000 investment from all those years ago has transformed into a net worth of $14.3 billion. But Cheriton isn’t living the high life filled with party yachts or luxury homes. Instead, he uses his money to fund computer science programs at UBC and continues to teach and write about object-oriented programming at Stanford University as a computer science professor.
One billionaire who climbed the rankings on this year’s list is local businessman Jim Pattison. Pattison is 50 spots higher than last year and now shares the 213th place with six other billionaires. With a net worth of $11.4 billion, Pattison’s path to fortune started in 1961, when he opened a General Motors dealership at West 18th Avenue and Cambie. Now, the Jim Pattison Group has expanded to other ventures like advertising, entertainment and food, where he oversees companies like Save-On-Foods and Urban Fare.
Founder and former CEO of Lululemon Chip Wilson also stands tall on the list, with a net worth of $6.8 billion. Wilson started Vancouver’s iconic athleisure brand in 2000, which has now expanded to over 700 stores worldwide. Although Wilson removed himself from Lululemon in 2015 (despite being its largest shareholder with a 7 percent stake), he is now operating Hold It All with his family—a holding company that invests in apparel, real estate, and private equity.
If you’ve ever wondered who invented the White Claw Hard Seltzer, look no further: it’s Anthony von Mandl. Standing at 620th place with a net worth of $5.7 billion, von Mandl earned his riches in the liquor industry, working as a wine importer in the 1970s at the young age of 22. The Mark Anthony brand is now home to a variety of alcoholic beverages including the Glendalough Double Barrel Irish Whiskey and Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
Founder and Chairman of Northland Properties Bob Gaglardi places 700th on the 2025 list, with a net worth of $5.1 billion. Northland Properties first launched in 1963 and now has over 60 Sandman Hotels in Canada, four in the United Kingdom, and two in the United States. Gaglardi and his son, Tom, also purchased the then-bankrupt Dallas Stars NHL team in 2011 in hopes of bringing the team back to the top 10. The father-and-son duo got their wish, as the Dallas Stars is now valued at a whopping $2 billion.