Rankings of Canada's richest people disagree by tens of billions of dollars because they value private companies differently, count families differently, use different currencies and price dates, and apply different tests for who counts as Canadian. The clearest example is Changpeng Zhao, the Binance co-founder who tops several Canadian lists. Forbes put his fortune at about US$110 billion in March 2026, while Zhao himself told The New York Times this autumn that he is worth "somewhere between $10 billion and $30 billion." Both figures describe the same person and broadly the same assets. The gap comes from method, not from any change in his holdings.

Private Companies Are the Biggest Source of Disagreement

Fortunes built on listed shares are relatively easy to estimate. Analysts take the number of shares disclosed in filings and multiply by the Market Price on a chosen day. Fortunes built on private companies require a judgment about what the Business would be worth if it traded, and that judgment can swing widely.

2026, Forbes bases its estimate of Zhao's Wealth mainly on an assumed stake of about 90 per cent in Binance at a company valuation of roughly US$100 billion. Binance is private, so neither the stake nor the valuation is set by a public market price, and Zhao has not disclosed the size of his holdings of BNB, the token linked to the exchange. A different valuation multiple, a discount for Regulatory Risk or a lower assumed ownership stake can each move the estimate by tens of billions.

The same issue affects other Canadians on the global lists. Forbes' 2026 list, placed Stuart Hoegner at about US$24.7 billion based on an estimated 13 per cent stake in Tether, another privately held crypto business. Daniel Nadler, co-founder of OpenEvidence, appeared at about US$7.6 billion. In each case, the number depends on a valuation that has not been tested by a public market.

Families Versus Individuals Changes the Order at the Top

The second big difference is whether a list counts a family as one entry or splits wealth among family members. Maclean's Rich List, published in its December 2025 issue, ranks the Thomson, Irving, McCain and Desmarais families as single units. On that basis, it placed the Thomson family second with about $90.2 billion, just behind Zhao at $91.3 billion. Maclean's attributes most of the Thomson fortune to a stake of nearly 70 per cent in Thomson Reuters (TSX:TRI), held through a Holding Company owned by the grandchildren of founder Roy Thomson.

Forbes' 2026 coverage, instead listed Sherry Brydson, the largest individual Shareholder in the family holding company Woodbridge, at about US$11.5 billion, and did not give a single combined Thomson figure. When a fortune is divided among several heirs, no individual may come close to a founder like Zhao, even if the family's combined wealth rivals his.

Maclean's top 10 shows how much the ordering depends on this choice. After Zhao and the Thomsons, it listed Galen Weston Jr. at $20.6 billion, Tobias Lütke at $19.1 billion, Joseph Tsai at $18.5 billion, David Cheriton at $16.3 billion, the Irving family at $15.8 billion, the McCain family at $13.9 billion, Ling Tang at $13.7 billion and the Desmarais family at $12.7 billion.

Price Dates and Currencies Create Further Gaps

Every ranking is a snapshot. Maclean's used share prices from October 3, 2025, with a later date for AppLovin. Forbes used prices and exchange rates from March 1, 2026. Real-time indexes, such as those run by Forbes and Bloomberg, change daily.

Shopify co-founder Tobias Lütke illustrates the effect. Maclean's put him at $19.1 billion, while Forbes' March 2026 list, placed him at about US$10.7 billion. Part of the gap reflects currency, since Maclean's figures appear to be in Canadian dollars while Forbes reports in U.S. dollars. The rest reflects the Shopify (TSX:SHOP) share price on each list's chosen date and how each publisher treats holdings such as founder shares.

Readers comparing lists should check the currency label first. A C$20 billion fortune and a US$20 billion fortune are not the same, and headlines do not always say which is meant.

Who Counts as Canadian Is Not Settled

The third issue is nationality. Maclean's notes that Zhao lives in Dubai, and he spent his teenage years in Vancouver. Some lists rank people by citizenship, others by where they live or where their business is based, and Maclean's does not set out a residency test in its methodology.

These choices can shift the total size of "Canadian" billionaire wealth by a large amount. When a single crypto founder is included at a valuation near US$110 billion, he can account for a large share of the country's apparent billionaire wealth on his own.

What the Rankings Can and Cannot Tell Investors

Wealth rankings are useful for showing broad trends, such as the growing role of technology and digital Assets alongside older fortunes built on media, groceries, forestry and food processing. Oxfam's January 2026 report, also used billionaire wealth data to argue that inequality reached record levels in 2025, which shows how these numbers feed into policy debates.

They are less reliable as precise measures. Maclean's says its own figures are conservative estimates and that few people on its list responded to verification requests. Forbes and Bloomberg disclose their general approach, but private valuations remain estimates.

Conclusion

The disagreement over Canada's richest people is mostly about method. Private company valuations, especially in crypto, produce the widest gaps, while decisions about families, currencies, price dates and nationality reshuffle the rest of the list. Zhao's own estimate of US$10 billion to US$30 billion, against Forbes' figure of about US$110 billion, shows how wide that range can be. Readers who compare rankings should look at the date, the currency, how families are treated and how private stakes are valued before drawing conclusions about who is richest.