Charles Bronfman

Charles Bronfman, PC CC (born June 27, 1931) is a Canadian / American businessman and philanthropist and is a member of the Canadian Jewish Bronfman family. With an estimated net worth of $2 billion (as of 2013), Bronfman was ranked by Forbes as the 14th wealthiest Canadian and 736th in the world.

Biography

Bronfman was born in Montreal. He is the son of Samuel Bronfman and Saidye Rosner Bronfman. He has two older sisters, the art patron Baroness Aileen "Minda" Bronfman de Gunzberg, and architecture expert and developer Phyllis Lambert. His older brother, Edgar Bronfman, Sr., was his fellow Co-Chair of Seagrams. Edgar Bronfman, Jr. is Edgar's son. He was educated at Selwyn House School in Montreal, Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario, and McGill University. Bronfman said he is Canadian in his heart but wanted to get dual citizenship in order to vote in the United States.

Career

Bronfman held various positions in the family's liquor empire, Seagrams, from 1951 to 2000. In 1951 Bronfman’s father Samuel Bronfman gave Charles a 33% ownership stake in Cemp Investments, a holding company for him and his 3 siblings which controlled the family’s coporate empire. Under the leadership of Charles and brother Edgar, it controlled billions of dollars in liquor, real estate, oil and gas, and chemical companies.