Stephen A. Jarislowsky, (born 9 September 1925) is a Canadian business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder, chairman and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Jarislowsky Fraser Limited, a Canadian investment management firm with over

Can$ The Canadian dollar (currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, code: CAD; ) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$ are frequently used f ...

40 billion in

assets under management In finance, assets under management (AUM), sometimes called fund under management, refers to the total market value of all financial assets that a financial institution—such as a mutual fund, venture capital firm, or depository institutio ...

. His personal wealth was estimated at $1.42 billion in December 2017, making him the 34th richest person in Canada.

Biography

Jarislowsky was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents, the son of Kaethe (née Gassmann) and Alfred Jarislowsky. In 2007, Jarislowsky's firm, which owns 18 percent of the shares of

Canfor Canfor Corporation is an integrated forest products company based in Vancouver, British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pac ...

, was embroiled in a bitter proxy fight with Vancouver-based tycoon

Jim Pattison James Allen Pattison (born October 1, 1928) is a Canadian business magnate and investor. He is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he holds the position of chief executive officer, chairman and sole owner of the Jim Pattison Group, Can ...

, who owns 25 percent of the company. Pattison won and ousted CEO Jim Shepherd over Canfor's poor performance and declining share price, replacing him for the interim with Jim Shepard. In several magazine and newspaper articles between 2002 and 2004, Jarislowsky predicted a deep economic recession, which began in 2008 in the United States and spread around the world. On 16 December 2008, in an interview on CBC's '' The Current'', he opined that the current recession would last at least two to five years and may last much longer if corrective measures are not taken by governments and the general public. He further argued that

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

is the only solution in the circumstances to reducing the enormous debt loads held at all levels of society and that massive and immediate government spending is also needed to stimulate the economy.

Personal life

He is married and has four children. Jarislowsky is a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

and a Grand Officer (promoted from Knight) of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

Criticism and advocacy

Business ethics

Apart from his personal business pursuits, he is a defender of business ethics (and a critic of ethical breaches). In 2002 he co-founded (with Claude Lamoureux) the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance to promote strong business ethics.

Quebec separatism

Jarislowsky is openly against

Quebec nationalism Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...

. In a 1997 speech to the Westmount Municipal Association, Jarislowsky drew comparisons between Parizeau and

Bouchard Bouchard, a Norman name with German elements means "fort" (bourgh) and "brave," "strong" (heard), see Burkhardt. It is also a French nickname for someone with a big mouth, "bouche" being French for mouth. Notable people with the name include: * Se ...

with the fascism of Franco's Spain and Hitler's Nazi Germany and told how, days after the 1995 referendum, he suggested the partition of Quebec and the transformation of Montreal into a City state. In his speech, he stated that his fellow citizens should oppose the PQ which he said, "feed on the same kind of quasi religious fervor on which all fascists feed (be it the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany or fascist Italy, etc.) A Parizeau, a Bouchard should never be underestimated and, despite lullabies, should never put one to sleep."

Boards and charities

He was a Director of the C.D. Howe Institute and has also been active in numerous other corporations besides his own including SNC-Lavalin,

Southam Southam () is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England, located about east-southeast of Leamington Spa. In the 2021 census, the population of Southam was 8,114. History Southam was a Royal ...

Swiss Bank Banking in Switzerland dates to the early 18th century through Switzerland's merchant trade and over the centuries has grown into a complex and regulated international industry. Banking is seen as very emblematic of Switzerland and the countr ...

, and

Abitibi Abitibi may refer to: Election districts in Canada * Abitibi—Témiscamingue (electoral district) * Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou * Abitibi (provincial electoral district) Places in Canada * Abitibi Canyon, Ontario, community on th ...

. He has participated in educational, cultural and charitable activities, and with his wife Gail, to date has endowed numerous eponymous university chairs in Canada.Rick Spence
"The City Builders: Three philanthropists with impact"
, ''Corporate Knights'', 25 March 2004

Publications

* ''The Investment Zoo'' (co-written with Craig Toomey), .

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarislowsky, Stephen 1925 births Living people Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian billionaires 21st-century Canadian philanthropists Companions of the Order of Canada Cornell University College of Engineering alumni German emigrants to Canada Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Harvard Business School alumni Businesspeople from Berlin University of Chicago alumni Asheville School alumni United States Army personnel of World War II