Gerald W. Schwartz, OC (born 1941) is the founder, chairman and CEO of
Onex Corporation
Onex Corporation is an investment manager founded in 1984. The firm manages capital on behalf of Onex shareholders, institutional investors and high net worth clients around the world. As of September 30, 2022, Onex had approximately US$47.2 ...
. Schwartz has a net worth of US$1.5 billion, according to
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
.
Early life and career
Schwartz was born in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
. He graduated from Kelvin High School in Winnipeg. He received his B.A. and LL.B. degrees from the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. where he became an active brother of the
Sigma Alpha Mu
Sigma Alpha Mu (), commonly known as Sammy, is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Though initially founded as a Jewish organization, the fraternity dropped its religious affiliation and became open to men of a ...
fraternity. He later received an MBA degree from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
in 1970.
In the 1970s, Schwartz worked at
Bear Stearns
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was a New York-based global investment bank, securities trading and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 as part of the global financial crisis and recession, and was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chase. The com ...
, where he was mentored by
Jerome Kohlberg, Jr.
Jerome Kohlberg Jr. (July 10, 1925 – July 30, 2015) was an American businessman and investor. He was an early pioneer in the private equity and leveraged buyout industries founding private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and later Koh ...
, who later became a founding partner in
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...
. Schwartz left Bear Stearns by 1977, returning to Canada. Along with
Izzy Asper
Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper (August 11, 1932– October 7, 2003) was a Canadian tax lawyer and media magnate. He was the founder and owner of the now-defunct TV and media company CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO and ...
, Schwartz co-founded
CanWest Global Communications
Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place. It held radio, television broadcasting an ...
in 1977.
In 1983, Schwartz founded Onex Corporation.
Schwartz has been a director of
Scotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...
since 1999. In 2021, Schwartz's net worth was estimated at US$1.5 billion, making him one of the wealthiest people in Canada. As of 2015, he was the highest paid CEO in Canada.
Personal life
In 1982, Schwartz married Heather Reisman, chief executive of
Indigo Books and Music
Indigo Books & Music Inc., known as "Indigo" and stylized "!ndigo", is Canada's only major English-language bookstore chain. It is Canada's largest book, gift, and specialty toy retailer, operating stores in all ten provinces and one terr ...
. Schwartz has two children from his first marriage and two stepchildren from his marriage to Heather Reisman.Jewish Women's Archive: Heather Reisman by Michael Brown retrieved April 1, 2012 The couple are members of the Reform synagogue,
Holy Blossom Temple
The Holy Blossom Temple is a Reform synagogue located at 1950 Bathurst Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Toronto. Founded in 1856, it has more than 7,000 members. W. Gunther Plaut, who died on 8 Februar ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
. Schwartz and Reisman own the most expensive house in Toronto, valued at $28 million.
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...
Entrepreneur Of The Year 2005 Ontario Lifetime Achievement award. In 2006, he was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
.
Philanthropy
In 2005, Schwartz and Reisman started a scholarship program for IDF
lone soldier
In the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a lone soldier ( he, חַיָּל בּוֹדֵד, ''Ḥayal Boded'') is defined as a serviceman or woman without immediate family in Israel. Lone soldiers serve in regular units and receive various forms of sup ...
s called the
Heseg Foundation
The HESEG Foundation is a charitable foundation created by Canadians Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman in 2005Kennemer, Daniel, "New fund for lone soldiers launched", ''Jerusalem Post'', May 4, 2005 to provide scholarships to former lone soldiers ...
. In 2006, he made a donation to
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
for an exchange program between University of Waterloo and the
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming ...
.
Mount Sinai Hospital announced in December 2013 that a transformational $15 million gift from Schwartz and Reisman would be used to "reshape emergency medicine" at the facility.
The Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation donated $5.3 million to St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia in late 2018 to create scholarships, bursaries and increased recruitment of business students.
In March 2019, University of Toronto announced that Schwartz and Reisman were giving the university $100 million to build a 750,000-square foot innovation centre through The Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman Foundation. According to Reisman, the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre will be used to improve technology, particularly
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech ...
, and how the public can relate to it. One of the two towers will house the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence while the other will include labs for research in regenerative medicine, genetics and precision medicine.