Wall Street Journal: Who Are High-Net-Worth Individuals, and How Do They Manage Their Wealth?

From investment strategies to tax and estate planning, high-net-worth individuals face unique financial priorities—here’s how their wealth needs differ from the average investor’s High-net-worth ...

Balsillie created the Canadian International Council (CIC) through a partnership with the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIAA) and CIGI. He is also the founder of the Council of Canadian Innovators.

Balsillie’s story surpasses mere financial success. His experience from mortgaging his house to becoming a billionaire, and then reinventing himself after BlackBerry’s decline, teaches valuable lessons about risk, adaptation, and strategic thinking.

Jim Balsillie is best known as the co-CEO of one of the most influential tech companies of the early 21st century. If the name sounds familiar, it may be because his story was dramatized in the 2023 film BlackBerry.

Jim Balsillie – most recognized as the former chair and co-chief executive officer of the Waterloo-based technology company BlackBerry (originally Research In Motion) – describes himself as “passionate about Canada, especially its current and future prosperity and sovereignty.”

Although the NHL accepted his proposal, Balsillie unexpectedly withdrew his $175 million bid to purchase the Penguins. The decision was prompted by a notice from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

Glenn Howerton's character, Jim Balsillie, is an over-the-top version of the real co-CEO, who was less of a pitbull and far more likable and worldly in real life (him being unfamiliar with Star Wars is fiction).

Jim Balsillie is the retired Chairman and co-CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry), a technology company he scaled from an idea to $20 billion in sales globally.