Canadian businessman Gerald Schwartz is the CEO of Onex and he has an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion as of March 2013 according to Forbes. Born Gerald W. Schwartz on November 24, 1941 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba and his MBA from Harvard University.

With his estimated net worth of $1.4 billion, Schwartz is the 24th richest person in Canada and the 1031st in the list of World Billionaires. He accumulated his earnings as the co-founder of CanWest Global Communications Inc., and the founder of the buyout firm, Onex Corporation, in 1983.

In 2011, Gerald Schwartz has earned more than $60 million pre-tax based on the company’s financial documents. His fortune has increased to $400 million from the previous year because of the rise in the price of his shares in Onex where he owns nearly 20% of the company. This made him one of Canada’s highest compensated executives. In May 2012, Onex was reportedly working on a deal to launch a new casino. In November of the same year, it had also struck an agreement to buy USI Insurance Services from a unit of Goldman Sachs for $2.3 billion.

Schwartz is an honorary director of the Bank of Nova Scotia. He also serves as a director of Indigo Books & Music where his wife, Heather Reisman, serves as the CEO. He was an awardee of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 Ontario Lifetime Achievement Award.