Michael Wekerle was born in 1963 in Ontario, Canada, and is a merchant banker, financial advisor as well as a reality television personality, most famous for being one of the “dragon” investors on CBC Television’s reality show – “Dragon’s Den”. He is also widely recognized as a co-founder and the CEO of his own merchant banking company – Difference Capital Financial Inc.
Have you ever wondered how much wealth this Canadian financial rock star has accumulated so far? How rich Michael Wekerle is? According to sources, it is estimated that the total of Michael Wekerle’s net worth, as of mid-2017, exceeds the sum of $100 million, acquired through his career in the investment business which has been active since the early 1990s.
Michael Wekerle Net Worth $100 million
Michael attended York University, but abandoned studies after only two semesters, in order to pursue his career in the investment business. At the age of 18, he began working at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) where he honed his skills. Later Michael joined First Marathon Inc., an investment dealing company in which he steadily climbed the ladder to become the firm’s head trader. Wekerle is one of those responsible for orchestrating $2.5 billion worth takeover of Maclean-Hunter by Rogers Communications Inc. in 1994. These ventures helped Michael Wekerle to establish himself in the demanding world of finance, and also provided the basis for his nowadays rather impressive net worth.
In 1995, Wekerle transferred to Griffiths McBurney and Partners, where he stayed for the next 16 years. In 2011 Wekerle left GMP in order to found his own company in 2012 – Difference Capital Financial Inc. Under Michael’s leadership as he serves as its CEO, the company focused on investing in technology start-ups, and over the years has acquired a variety of other companies spreading their area of interest on different businesses including data analytics, social media management, as well as medical technology and even movie-making. In 2014, Wekerle launched a new business incubator in Ontario’s Waterloo Region, acquiring BlackBerry Inc. It is certain that all these achievements have helped Michael Wekerle to add a significant amount of money to the total of his net worth.
Apart from all those already mentioned above, Michael Wekerle also served as GMP’s Institutional Trading’s Vice Chairman and is also involved in the real estate business – in his portfolio there are assets such as El Mocambo – Toronto’s entertainment venue as well as several high-tech properties in the Waterloo Region. Wekerle is also a partner in Wahlburgers chain of restaurants, owned by Mark Wahlberg. Doubtlessly, all these ventures made a huge impact on Michael Wekerle’s net worth.
Since March 2014 when he joined the show’s ninth season, Michael is a regular cast member of CBC Television’s financial reality TV show – “Dragon’s Den”. The show pictures the team of five Canadian aspiring entrepreneurs and businessmen investing in venture capital in order to secure project’s stable financial and business future. These appearances have helped Michael Wekerle to further increase his popularity as well as his wealth.
When it comes to his personal life, Michael has been married twice, firstly to Patricia from 1989-2000. When his second wife Lea-Anne passed away after a heart attack in 2010 at the age of 39, Wekerle began suffering from depression which resulted in heavy drinking and erratic behavior. However, he has managed to overcome his loss and returned to business. He is the father of six children.
Apart from business and making money, Michael Wekerle is heavily involved in charities and philanthropy – he is a one of the donators of Bloorview Kids, Sick Kids Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital as well as CAMH and Toronto General. He is also sponsoring Opera Atelier and Seeds of Hope.
