The Most Famous
BUSINESSPEOPLE from Canada
This page contains a list of the greatest Canadian Businesspeople. The pantheon dataset contains 847 Businesspeople, 8 of which were born in Canada. This makes Canada the birth place of the 14th most number of Businesspeople behind Turkey, and Sweden.
Top 9
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Canadian Businesspeople of all time. This list of famous Canadian Businesspeople is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Elizabeth Arden (1878 - 1966)
With an HPI of 59.80, Elizabeth Arden is the most famous Canadian Businessperson. Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages on wikipedia.
Elizabeth Arden (December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966), also known as Elizabeth N. Graham, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. By 1929, she owned 150 salons in Europe and the United States. Her 1,000 products were being sold in 22 countries. She was the sole owner, and at the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.
2. Joe Weider (1919 - 2013)
With an HPI of 59.51, Joe Weider is the 2nd most famous Canadian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Josef Weider (; November 29, 1919 – March 23, 2013) was a Canadian bodybuilder and entrepreneur who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Ben Weider. He was also the creator of Mr. Olympia, Ms. Olympia, and the Masters Olympia bodybuilding contests. He was the publisher of various bodybuilding and fitness-related magazines, most notably Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Men's Fitness, and Shape, and the manufacturer of a line of fitness equipment and fitness supplements. In 2014, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
3. Lawrence Stroll (b. 1959)
With an HPI of 50.80, Lawrence Stroll is the 3rd most famous Canadian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Lawrence Sheldon Strulović (name later anglicized to Strulovitch) (born 11 July 1959), known as Lawrence Stroll, is a Canadian businessman, part-owner and executive chairman of Aston Martin, and the owner of the Aston Martin F1 Team. According to Forbes, he has a net worth of US$3.9 billion, as of March 2024.
4. Guy Laliberté (b. 1959)
With an HPI of 50.41, Guy Laliberté is the 4th most famous Canadian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Guy Laliberté, (born 2 September 1959) is a Canadian billionaire businessman, and poker player. Along with Gilles Ste-Croix, he is the co-founder of Cirque du Soleil in 1984. The Canadian circus company's shows have since been seen by more than 90 million people worldwide. Before founding the company, he had busked, performing as an accordion player, stiltwalker, and fire-eater. In 2006, he was named the Ernst & Young Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2007, he was named Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year. In January 2018, Laliberté was ranked by Forbes as the 11th wealthiest Canadian.
5. Samuel Cunard (1787 - 1865)
With an HPI of 48.30, Samuel Cunard is the 5th most famous Canadian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet (21 November 1787 – 28 April 1865), was a British-Canadian shipping magnate, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who founded the Cunard Line, establishing the first scheduled steamship connection with North America. He was the son of a master carpenter and timber merchant who had fled the American Revolution and settled in Halifax.
6. David Baszucki (b. 1963)
With an HPI of 47.46, David Baszucki is the 6th most famous Canadian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.
David Brent Baszucki (; born January 20, 1963), also known by his former Roblox username builderman, is a Canadian-born American entrepreneur, engineer, and software developer. He is best known as the co-founder and CEO of Roblox Corporation. He previously co-founded and served as the CEO of Knowledge Revolution, which was acquired by MSC Software in December 1998.
7. Stephen Elop (b. 1963)
With an HPI of 39.12, Stephen Elop is the 7th most famous Canadian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Stephen Elop (born 31 December 1963) is a Canadian businessman who most recently worked at Australian telecom company Telstra from April 2016. In the past he had worked for Nokia as its first non-Finnish CEO and later as Executive Vice President, Devices & Services, as well as the head of the Microsoft Business Division, as the COO of Juniper Networks, as the president of worldwide field operations at Adobe Systems, in several senior positions in Macromedia and as the CIO at Boston Chicken. He is best known for his ill-fated tenure as Nokia CEO from 2010 to 2014, which included controversies such as the "burning platform" memo and the company's partnership with Microsoft, resulting in the move to Windows Phone software exclusivity. He was criticised for some of his decisions, which resulted in the company suffering massive losses both financially and in market share. As then head of the Microsoft Devices Group, Elop was in charge of Microsoft's varied product offerings including Lumia phones, Surface Pro 3, and Xbox One. Since January 2016 he has had a role as Distinguished Engineering Executive in Residence within McMaster University's Faculty of Engineering, where he originally studied in the 1980s.
8. Jade Raymond (b. 1975)
With an HPI of 38.72, Jade Raymond is the 8th most famous Canadian Businessperson. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Jade Raymond (born 28 August 1975) is a Canadian video game producer, best known for helping create the Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs franchises, as well as building Ubisoft Toronto and Motive Studio. In March 2021, Raymond announced the founding of a new independent development team called Haven Studios, which was later acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in July 2022, making them a first-party developer for PlayStation Studios.
9. Andrea Jung (b. 1959)
With an HPI of 37.63, Andrea Jung is the 9th most famous Canadian Businessperson. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Andrea Jung (Chinese: 鍾彬嫻; pinyin: Zhōng Bīnxián; Jyutping: zung1 ban1 haa4; born September 18, 1958) is a Canadian-American executive, non-profit leader, and prominent women's-issues supporter based in New York City. In April 2014, she became president and CEO of Grameen America, a nonprofit microfinance organization founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus. From 1999 until 2012, she served as the first female CEO and chairman of Avon Products, Inc., a multi-level marketing company. Jung was also the first woman to serve as Chairman of the Cosmetic, Toiletry & Fragrance Association, and Chairman of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations. Jung received the 2010 Clinton Global Citizen Award for her leadership of the Avon Foundation for Women and other public-private partnerships to end violence against women and to stem the breast cancer epidemic. Under her leadership, the Avon Foundation for Women raised and awarded nearly US$1 billion to support health and empowerment causes, becoming the largest women-focused corporate philanthropy around the world. After resigning her CEO role at Avon, Jung continued as chair of Avon's board of directors through the end of 2012 and then as a senior advisor to Avon's board through April 2014.
People
Pantheon has 9 people classified as Canadian businesspeople born between 1787 and 1975. Of these 9, 6 (66.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Canadian businesspeople include Lawrence Stroll, Guy Laliberté, and David Baszucki. The most famous deceased Canadian businesspeople include Elizabeth Arden, Joe Weider, and Samuel Cunard. As of April 2024, 1 new Canadian businesspeople have been added to Pantheon including Lawrence Stroll.
Living Canadian Businesspeople
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Lawrence Stroll
1959 - Present
HPI: 50.80
Guy Laliberté
1959 - Present
HPI: 50.41
David Baszucki
1963 - Present
HPI: 47.46
Stephen Elop
1963 - Present
HPI: 39.12
Jade Raymond
1975 - Present
HPI: 38.72
Andrea Jung
1959 - Present
HPI: 37.63
Deceased Canadian Businesspeople
Go to all RankingsElizabeth Arden
1878 - 1966
HPI: 59.80
Joe Weider
1919 - 2013
HPI: 59.51
Samuel Cunard
1787 - 1865
HPI: 48.30
Newly Added Canadian Businesspeople (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Businesspeople were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Businesspeople since 1700.
