India and Canada's diplomatic row escalated earlier this week, with both countries expelling diplomats and levelling allegations against each other over the killing of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Canada has not ruled out imposing sanctions on India, even as many fear an impact on trade ties.
The relations between India and Canada tail-spined after Canada on Monday linked India's high commissioner and other diplomats to the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on its soil and accused New Delhi of a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada. India strongly rejected the allegations, calling them part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's "vote bank politics".
Bill Malhotra, 75, is said to be among the richest Indian living in Canada right now. According to Forbes his "Real Time Net Worth" is calculated at $2.1 billion (approximately ₹176,467,101,300). He ranked 1620 on the Forbes' The Real-Time Billionaires List, as of October 16, 2024.
Bill Malhotra was born in India and studied civil engineering in college before moving to Canada in 1971 at age 22. He pursued a Bachelor of Engineering at Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) - Pilani. Malhotra initially worked at an engineering firm after moving to Canada.
He is currently the founder and CEO of Claridge Homes, one of the largest real estate developers in Ottawa, Canada, Forbes reported. It added that one of the company's residential projects, the Claridge Icon, is the tallest building in Ottawa with a height of 469 feet.
Claridge was founded in 1986 and the company has since built more than 14,000 properties, including condos, houses and retirement homes.
Malhotra has also been dubbed as the ‘Condo King’. “They called me The c,” Malhotra told the Ottawa Citizen in 2016.
V. Prem Watsa, 74, is another richest Indian in Canada, following Malhotra in Forbes ranking. He ranked 1702 on the real-time world ranking on Wednesday, October 16.
Watsa has a Real Time Net Worth of about $2 billion. He is the founder of Toronto-based financial services firm Fairfax Financial Holdings in 1985 and remains its chairman and CEO.
Born in Hyderabad in India, Watsa later joined his brother in Canada, and then enrolled in the University of Western Ontario's MBA program, Forbes reported.
He sold appliances door-to-door and paid his way through school. After a stint as an investment analyst, he began acquiring insurance companies, modeling his business after the success of his idol, Warren Buffett.
"Fairfax now has property and casualty insurance and reinsurance interests across the world plus stakes in companies that include BlackBerry and GE," Forbes said.
Watsa is also a co-founder and a director of The BlackNorth Initiative
There are around 16 lakh (16,89,055) Indian livings in Canada. According to a Ministry of External Affairs report, Canada has 1,78,410 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and 15,10,645 Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs).
According to the Canadian government, in 2022, India was Canada’s top source country for permanent residents, accounting for 27% of admissions. It was also the top source country for temporary foreign workers (22%) and international students (45%).
In the wake of the ongoing India-Canada turmoil, here's a look at the net worth of the "richest Indian" in Canada.
