Despite prison stint, Canada's richest man's fortune surged by $20 billion in months
CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M
Irish Mae Silvestre
Nov 9 2024,
@cz_binance/X
Despite a four-month prison term, Canada’s richest man continues to get richer, adding several billion dollars to his net worth in less than a year.
In its latest list of the top 10 richest Canadians, Maclean’s magazine estimates that Changpeng Zhao, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is currently the second richest person in the country.
The Thomson family, who controls the Thomson Reuters Corporation, tops the list with a net worth of $98.15 billion.
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But at the rate he’s going, Zhao could soon close that gap.
Changpeng Zhao/X
Zhao is currently worth $61.02 billion — a $20.72 billion jump in just a few months since the Bloomberg Billionaire Index reported that Zhao had a net worth of $40.3 billion as of May 6. At the time, his net worth made him the wealthiest crypto entrepreneur, the richest Canadian on the list, and the 34th richest person in the world.
Born in Jiangsu, China, Zhao (also known as CZ) moved with his family to Vancouver in the late 1980s after his dad got a job at the University of British Columbia. According to Bloomberg, he completed a computer science degree at McGill University in Montreal, and his interest in cryptocurrency was sparked after a discussion at a poker game in 2013. Zhao founded Binance in 2017, and by 2018, it was the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
Koshiro K/Shutterstock
But it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the multibillionaire.
In 2023, Zhao pled guilty to failing to implement anti-money laundering controls at Binance. He spent four months in prison and was released from custody on September 27. Not only has he resigned as CEO, but Binance was fined US$4.3 billion.
Maclean’s list includes grocers, tech giants, developers, and investors.
“As a group, their wealth has ballooned over the last two decades: the combined net worth of the ten richest Canadians is now $261 billion, compared to $60 billion in 2004,” states the report
With files from Isabelle Docto
Ontario family worth over $98 billion just keeps getting richer
An Ontario family behind a vast media empire saw its fortune grow by $14.25 billion since the start of 2024, cementing the Thomson family's position as Canada's wealthiest.
Maclean's revealed its list of Canada's Richest People on Thursday, with the 2024 list, produced in partnership with Canadian Business, offering "a fresh look at the uber-wealthy in this country."
And they sure aren't exaggerating about said wealth, as Canada's rich just keep getting richer.
"The bulk of Canada's money is still held by a few at the top. On average, a billionaire will earn a typical Canadian's yearly salary by January 2. What has changed is where that affluence lives," reads the report.
It's not just your usual suspects of business tycoons on this year's list, as Maclean's notes the growing presence of e-commerce giants, crypto CEOs and other new money big-wigs among the country's wealthiest.
But it was still traditional "old money" at the top of this year's list.
The Thomson family, at the helm of the globe-spanning Thomson-Reuters media empire, secured the top position on this year's ranking with a staggering value of $98.15 billion.
This should come as little surprise to anyone who has been tracking the immensely wealthy family's impressive financial gains in recent years, which have only been bolstered by gargantuan earnings in 2024.
In addition to its controlling stake in Thomson Reuters — a company that has seen immense share growth in the last five years — the Thomson family's holding company, Woodbridge, owns major publications like The Globe and Mail.
Woodbridge also holds a minority interest in the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, as well as BCE Inc., which owns Bell Canada. If a stake in one NHL team wasn't enough for Canada's richest family, David Thomson, the reclusive family patriarch, is also a co-owner of the Winnipeg Jets.
Back in January 2024, the Thomson family empire was worth $60.4 billion USD ($83.9 billion in Canuck Bucks). That figure had increased to $67.8 billion by April, and by May, the Thomson empire's riches had grown even more to $71 billion, further solidifying the family's position as the richest in Canada.
With a current net worth of $98.15 billion CAD ($70.6 billion USD) as of November, the Thomson family has seen its fortune swell by over $10 billion USD/$14 billion CAD in 2024 alone.
But it took a long time for them to accumulate such astronomical riches.
David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet (okay, Mr. Fancy, we get it), is the third generation at the head of this empire and saw the family business expand with the acquisition of global news service Reuters for $17 billion USD.
According to Maclean's, David follows in the footsteps of his late father as "an avid art collector," and is the owner of several works from legendary artist Pablo Picasso, among other culturally significant painters.
But even Canada's richest family can only adorn so much wall space, and the Thomson family has donated roughly 450 works to the Art Gallery of Ontario from artists like the Group of Seven, Tom Thomson, Cornelius Krieghoff and Peter Paul Rubens
The Maclean's list also includes other notable Canadians like grocery magnate Galen Weston Jr., who has accumulated a net worth in excess of $18 billion as of 2024.
Irish Mae Silvestre
Nov 9 2024,
@cz_binance/X
Despite a four-month prison term, Canada’s richest man continues to get richer, adding several billion dollars to his net worth in less than a year.
In its latest list of the top 10 richest Canadians, Maclean’s magazine estimates that Changpeng Zhao, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is currently the second richest person in the country.
The Thomson family, who controls the Thomson Reuters Corporation, tops the list with a net worth of $98.15 billion.
ADVERTISEMENT
But at the rate he’s going, Zhao could soon close that gap.
Changpeng Zhao/X
Zhao is currently worth $61.02 billion — a $20.72 billion jump in just a few months since the Bloomberg Billionaire Index reported that Zhao had a net worth of $40.3 billion as of May 6. At the time, his net worth made him the wealthiest crypto entrepreneur, the richest Canadian on the list, and the 34th richest person in the world.
Born in Jiangsu, China, Zhao (also known as CZ) moved with his family to Vancouver in the late 1980s after his dad got a job at the University of British Columbia. According to Bloomberg, he completed a computer science degree at McGill University in Montreal, and his interest in cryptocurrency was sparked after a discussion at a poker game in 2013. Zhao founded Binance in 2017, and by 2018, it was the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
Koshiro K/Shutterstock
But it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the multibillionaire.
In 2023, Zhao pled guilty to failing to implement anti-money laundering controls at Binance. He spent four months in prison and was released from custody on September 27. Not only has he resigned as CEO, but Binance was fined US$4.3 billion.
Maclean’s list includes grocers, tech giants, developers, and investors.
“As a group, their wealth has ballooned over the last two decades: the combined net worth of the ten richest Canadians is now $261 billion, compared to $60 billion in 2004,” states the report
With files from Isabelle Docto
Ontario family worth over $98 billion just keeps getting richer
An Ontario family behind a vast media empire saw its fortune grow by $14.25 billion since the start of 2024, cementing the Thomson family's position as Canada's wealthiest.
Maclean's revealed its list of Canada's Richest People on Thursday, with the 2024 list, produced in partnership with Canadian Business, offering "a fresh look at the uber-wealthy in this country."
And they sure aren't exaggerating about said wealth, as Canada's rich just keep getting richer.
"The bulk of Canada's money is still held by a few at the top. On average, a billionaire will earn a typical Canadian's yearly salary by January 2. What has changed is where that affluence lives," reads the report.
It's not just your usual suspects of business tycoons on this year's list, as Maclean's notes the growing presence of e-commerce giants, crypto CEOs and other new money big-wigs among the country's wealthiest.
But it was still traditional "old money" at the top of this year's list.
The Thomson family, at the helm of the globe-spanning Thomson-Reuters media empire, secured the top position on this year's ranking with a staggering value of $98.15 billion.
This should come as little surprise to anyone who has been tracking the immensely wealthy family's impressive financial gains in recent years, which have only been bolstered by gargantuan earnings in 2024.
In addition to its controlling stake in Thomson Reuters — a company that has seen immense share growth in the last five years — the Thomson family's holding company, Woodbridge, owns major publications like The Globe and Mail.
Woodbridge also holds a minority interest in the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, as well as BCE Inc., which owns Bell Canada. If a stake in one NHL team wasn't enough for Canada's richest family, David Thomson, the reclusive family patriarch, is also a co-owner of the Winnipeg Jets.
Back in January 2024, the Thomson family empire was worth $60.4 billion USD ($83.9 billion in Canuck Bucks). That figure had increased to $67.8 billion by April, and by May, the Thomson empire's riches had grown even more to $71 billion, further solidifying the family's position as the richest in Canada.
With a current net worth of $98.15 billion CAD ($70.6 billion USD) as of November, the Thomson family has seen its fortune swell by over $10 billion USD/$14 billion CAD in 2024 alone.
But it took a long time for them to accumulate such astronomical riches.
David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet (okay, Mr. Fancy, we get it), is the third generation at the head of this empire and saw the family business expand with the acquisition of global news service Reuters for $17 billion USD.
According to Maclean's, David follows in the footsteps of his late father as "an avid art collector," and is the owner of several works from legendary artist Pablo Picasso, among other culturally significant painters.
But even Canada's richest family can only adorn so much wall space, and the Thomson family has donated roughly 450 works to the Art Gallery of Ontario from artists like the Group of Seven, Tom Thomson, Cornelius Krieghoff and Peter Paul Rubens
The Maclean's list also includes other notable Canadians like grocery magnate Galen Weston Jr., who has accumulated a net worth in excess of $18 billion as of 2024.
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