It’s that time of the year again. Forbes’ 2025 World’s Billionaires list is out, and several of the richest Canadians made the list.
Not only are the rich getting richer, but the world now has more billionaires than ever. For the first time, the number of billionaires has crossed the 3,000 threshold, and currently, there are 3,028 billionaires globally — up by 247 compared to last year. Combined, their wealth totals US$$16.1 trillion, an increase of US$2 trillion compared to 2024.
The U.S. has 902 billionaires, followed by China with 516 (including Hong Kong) and India with 205 billionaires.
It seems that there are fewer Canadians who made the list this time, and there’s been a dramatic reshuffling, with some even dropping from the list entirely. Last year, 67 Canadians were among the richest in the world; this year, that number has fallen to 47.
Notably absent from the list is Chinese Canadian billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who goes by CZ.
Last year, the founder and former CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, known as Binance, ranked 50th on the list with a worth of US$33 billion. This year, Zhao, who now has dual citizenship, is on the list as a citizen of the United Arab Emirates.
Zhao has shot up in the list after nearly doubling his net worth in just one year to US$62.9 billion. If he were still listed as a Canadian, he would be the wealthiest Canadian.
Top 10 richest Canadians
There have been shifts in fortune for Canada’s wealthiest.
In 2024, David Thomson and his family were the 22nd wealthiest billionaires in the world, with a US$67.8 billion net worth, making them the richest Canadians. The Thomsons are shareholders of investment firm Woodbridge, which controls the media publishing empire Thomson Reuters.
However, now with a net worth of US$10.2 billion, the Thomsons experienced a precipitous drop in their ranking, falling to the 264th spot and making them the second richest Canadians.
Jim Pattison has claimed the title of this year’s wealthiest Canadian, securing the 213th spot with a net worth of US$11.4 billion.
The business mogul, who leads multiple advertising, entertainment, and food ventures, ranked 263 in 2024 and had a net worth of US$9.3 billion.
In third place is Tobi Lutke, cofounder and CEO of the e-commerce firm Shopify.
Founder and former CEO of lululemon, Chip Wilson, is in fourth place at #498 with a net worth of US$6.8 billion. Last year, Wilson ranked #403 globally with a US$6.8 billion net worth.
Alain Bouchard, who made his fortune after co-founding convenience store conglomerate Alimentation Couche-Tard, is the fifth-wealthiest Canadian at #512 with a net worth of US$6.6 billion.
Other billionaires who made the top ten list of the richest Canadians include Peter Gilgan (#540, net worth US$6.4 billion), Stuart Hoegner (#561, net worth US$6.2 billion), Daryl Katz (#605, net worth US$5.8 billion), Stephen Smith (#605, net worth US$5.8 billion), and Anthony von Mandi (#620, net worth US$5.7 billion).
Elon Musk is currently the wealthiest man in the world with a net worth of US$342 billion, followed by Mark Zuckerberg (US$216 billion), Jeff Bezos (US$215 billion), Larry Ellison (US$192 billion), and Bernard Arnault and family (US$178 billion).
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