Gerald 'Gerry' W. Schwartz, OC, is a Canadian businessman, the self-made billionaire Founder and Chairman of Onex Corporation (TSX: ONEX), one of Canada's largest and most successful private equity firms. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1941, he demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit early on (creating his own backyard circus as a child and working behind the counter in his father's pharmacy/store).

Schwartz received an elite education: a B.A. and an LL.B. Law degree from the University of Manitoba, and an MBA from Harvard University in 1970. His career began with high-level financial training at Bear Stearns, where he was mentored by Jerome Kohlberg Jr. (who later founded KKR). This experience in finance and leveraged transactions provided the foundation for his entrepreneurial venture.

Gerald Schwartz's career is a history of successful private equity pioneering. After leaving Bear Stearns, he co-founded CanWest Global Communications (1977). His pivotal moment came in 1984 when he founded Onex Corporation, taking the industrial assets from CanWest and starting a new venture focused on leveraged buyouts (LBOs). He started with only an assistant and his secretary in a windowless, borrowed office.

Under his leadership, Onex grew into a global private equity giant, managing billions in assets across private equity and credit and executing massive leveraged buyouts in sectors like manufacturing, aerospace, and retail. Schwartz has consistently been one of the highest-paid CEOs in Canada. His wealth is secured by his long-term control over the publicly traded Onex Corporation and the highly profitable nature of the private equity LBO model.

Gerald Schwartz's social impact is structural, stemming from Onex Corporation's role as a major financial institution that provides capital for large-scale corporate restructurings and acquisitions globally. His companies provide thousands of stable jobs across diverse industrial sectors. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

His personal philanthropy is massive, supporting Jewish and educational causes. His commitment to the Heseg Foundation for Lone Soldiers is a high-profile, structural contribution to military welfare.

Gerald Schwartz maintains the professional, composed style of a major Canadian financier. His attire is consistently bespoke, favoring dark, tailored suits. His aesthetic reflects stability and immense financial authority, befitting a founder of the modern private equity industry.

Residing in Toronto, Canada (owning the most expensive house in Toronto with his wife, Heather Reisman), his luxury is the immense security and financial power derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is dedicated to high-stakes LBOs, corporate governance, and large-scale philanthropy.