Gerry Schwartz
Gerald W. Schwartz | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Known for | Founder and chairman of Onex Corporation |
Gerald W. Schwartz, OC (born 1941), is the founder and chairman of Onex Corporation. As of 2021, his wealth was estimated at approximately US$1.5 billion, placing him among the top-tier affluent individuals in Canada.
Early life and career
Schwartz was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He completed his secondary education at Kelvin High School before obtaining both a B.A. and an LL.B. from the University of Manitoba, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He later earned an MBA from Harvard University in 1970.
During the 1970s, Schwartz was employed at Bear Stearns, where he was guided by Jerome Kohlberg, Jr., one of the founders of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. By 1977, he departed Bear Stearns and returned to Canada to co-establish CanWest Global Communications alongside Izzy Asper.
In 1983, Schwartz launched Onex Corporation, which developed into a prominent private equity firm. Since 1999, he has been a director at Scotiabank. By 2015, he held the distinction of being Canada's highest-compensated CEO, with earnings totaling $88 million.
In May 2023, Schwartz resigned as CEO of Onex but maintained control through voting shares.
Personal life
In 1982, Schwartz wed Heather Reisman, who would become CEO of Indigo Books and Music. He has two children from a previous marriage and two stepchildren through his marriage to Reisman. The couple are affiliated with the Reform synagogue, Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, and possess Toronto’s most valuable residence, appraised at $28 million.
Recognition
The Gerald Schwartz School of Business at St. Francis Xavier University bears his name in recognition of his philanthropic contributions. In 2005, he earned the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Ontario Lifetime Achievement award. The following year, in 2006, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Philanthropy
Together with Heather Reisman, Schwartz co-established the Heseg Foundation for Lone Soldiers, which annually offers scholarships, living stipends, and career support to non-Israeli Jewish individuals who served in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), as well as some Israeli soldiers. In 2006, he sponsored an exchange initiative between the University of Waterloo and the University of Haifa.
In 2013, Schwartz and Reisman contributed $15 million to Mount Sinai Hospital aimed at enhancing emergency medicine capabilities. Their foundation also donated $5.3 million in 2018 to St. Francis Xavier University to fund scholarships and improve recruitment for business students.
In 2019, they committed $100 million to the University of Toronto for constructing the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre—a 750,000-square-foot facility dedicated to technology and artificial intelligence research. The centre houses the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, the Vector Institute for AI, along with laboratories focusing on regenerative medicine, genetics, and precision medicine studies.