Guy Laliberté, OC CQ (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 January 2018, Laliberté was ranked by Forbes as the 11th wealthiest Canadian.
In 1984, Laliberté founded Cirque du Soleil. 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.
What is Guy Laliberté’s Net Worth?
Guy Laliberté is a Canadian billionaire businessman and poker player who has a net worth of $1.6 billion. Guy Laliberté is known for co-founding the entertainment company Cirque du Soleil with Gilles Ste-Croix. Prior to this, he had a career busking as a stilt-walker, accordion player, and fire-eater. Laliberté has consistently been ranked among the wealthiest Canadian people by Forbes, and has won multiple awards for his entrepreneurship.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Guy Laliberté was born on September 2, 1959 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. His passion for show business was first sparked as a child, when his parents took him to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In school, he produced a number of performing arts events. Later, as a young adult, Laliberté left Canada to backpack across Europe. During his travels, he earned money by busking as an accordion player, and also learned the street performing skills of stilt-walking and fire-eating. Upon his return to Canada, he transferred these skills to the streets of Quebec. Laliberté subsequently joined the performing troupe Les Échassiers, which was comprised of jugglers, acrobats, and fire-eaters who toured around the country. He then returned to Quebec to take a full-time job at a hydroelectric dam; however, when the company’s employees went on strike, Laliberté resumed his work as a street performer.
Cirque du Soleil
In 1984, along with fellow entrepreneur Gilles Ste-Croix and a small group of colleagues, Laliberté co-founded the entertainment company Cirque du Soleil. Originally set up as a single-year project, the group was eventually enlisted by the Quebec government to become a touring event that would perform in other provinces. Cirque du Soleil went on to gradually expand to over 300 cities on six continents, with its shows employing over 4,000 people from more than 40 countries. Its estimated annual revenue is around $1 billion. The group’s productions are driven by theatrical, character-oriented performances with continuous live music. In 2015, Laliberté sold 90% of his stock in the company; he sold the remaining 10% in 2020 for $75 million.
Awards and honours
In 1997, Laliberté received the National Order of Quebec, the highest distinction awarded by the Government of Quebec. In 2001, he was named a Great Montrealer by the Académie des Grands Montréalais. In 2003, he was honored by the Condé Nast group as part of the Never Follow Program, a tribute to creators and innovators. In 2004, he received the Order of Canada, the highest distinction in the country, from the Governor General of Canada. The same year, he was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
In 2006, Laliberté won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for all three levels: Quebec, Canada and international. In 2007, he was named Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Université Laval (Québec) awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2008. On 22 November 2010, he and Cirque du Soleil were honoured with the 2,424th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Personal life
Laliberté’s son Kami is a racing driver competing in the European junior formulae. He recorded one race victory in F4 but has no record of racing after 2017. His daughter Naïma is a competitive dressage rider.
