Forbes’ 2025 World’s Billionaires list was just released, and some notable Canadians (including those with ties to Toronto) made the list. Forbes has been scouring the globe for billionaires since the late 1980s, and this is the first year that the list topped 3,000 (3,028 to be exact), with the billionaires worth a combined total of $16.1 trillion — up nearly $2 trillion since last year’s list.
In all, 78 countries/territories have at least one billionaire as of 2025 — the U.S. has the most billionaires on the list (902), with Elon Musk, 53, being the richest person in America (worth $342 billion), followed by China (516 billionaires) and India (205 billionaires). Canada has 76 billionaires this year worth a total net worth of $359 billion (down from 67 billionaires/$315 billion last year).
Chinese Canadian billionaire Changpeng Zhao, 48, the founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance, is the richest person in Canada (with $62.9 billion) and the 24th richest person in the world. Although his citizenship is Canadian, his current residence is listed as Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Notably, a few billionaires can be found in Toronto (or at least have ties to the city). Collectively, the Thomson family — who hails from Toronto — is one of the richest families in Canada. The family holds more than 310 million shares of Thomson Reuters, as well as assets in the Global and Mail newspaper, the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets. There are six billionaire heirs to the Thomson Reuters Corporation, founded by Roy Thomson (who passed in 1976):
Sherry Brydson ranks 125th on the global list, with a total net worth of $16.7 billion, making her the second-richest Canadian on the list and the richest Canadian woman. Brydson is the cousin of David, Taylor, and Peter Thomson, and the daughter of Irma Thomson (who was one of the children of Roy Thomson). The 78-year-old is notoriously private, so we don’t know her current residence, but we know that she owns a 23 per cent stake in Woodbridge Co. (the firm that manages the Thomson family assets), as well as owns the award-winning Bangkok Garden Thai restaurant and Elmwood Spa (18 Elm St) in downtown Toronto.
Siblings David Thomson, 67, Peter Thomson and Taylor Thomson are tied at no. 264 on the global list (no. 6 on the Canadian list), each boasting a net worth of $10.2 billion. David is the Chairman of Thomson Reuters, while Peter (co-chair) and Taylor are also heirs to the company. David’s current residence is listed as Toronto.
Rounding up the Thomson family heirs are Linda Campbell and Gaye Farncombe (tied at no. 382 on the global list and no. 8 on the Canadian list, with a net worth of $8 billion each). The two granddaughters of Roy Thomson each own about 11 per cent of Woodbridge. We don’t know their residences, but Campbell previously served on a number of not-for-profit boards, including Toronto’s Sunnybrook Foundation, while Farncombe and her sisters once donated $30 million to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
Moving away from the Thomson family, 74-year-old Toronto resident Peter Gilgan (no. 520 on the global list and no. 11 on the Canadian list) is worth $6.4 billion and has built more than 135,000 houses since founding Mattamy Homes in 1978. Trailing behind is Mark Leonard, 68, president of Constellation Software. He and his family rank 688th on the global list (no. 17 on the Canadian list) and have a net worth of $5.2 billion. Leonard’s current residence is listed as Toronto.
Carlo Fidani is ranked at 846 on the global list (no. 21 on the Canadian list), with a net worth of $4.3 billion. The 70-year-old runs Orlando Corp. — a Toronto-area real estate company he took over following his father’s death in 2000.
Larry Tanenbaum, ranked 1305th on the global list (29th in Canada), and is worth an estimated $2.8 billion. The 79-year-old is chairman of MLSE, which owns several sports franchises, including the Toronto Raptors, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto FC.
Mitchell Goldhar, ranked 1362 on the global list and 30th in Canada, is worth $2.7 billion. The 63-year-old tycoon founded real estate firm SmartCentres in the early 1990s and has since developed more than 265 shopping centres. He currently resides in North York.
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