Lululemon founder Wilson joins world’s richest list
Lululemon Athletica founder and Vancouver billionaire Chip Wilson now ranks among the 500 richest people on the planet.
The company’s shares have surged 15 per cent after the yogawear maker reported blowout second-quarter results.
That’s a record for the company after beating Wall Street’s net sales estimates for the eighth quarter in a row on Thursday and raising its full-year revenue and profit projections.
The share surge added $311 million to Wilson’s fortune on Friday and a further $41 million on Tuesday to leave him with a $3.9-billion fortune, the 496th largest on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
As of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Forbes’ real-time net worth ranking had Wilson listed with $4.1 billion.
Wilson, who owns a 13 per cent stake in Lululemon, joins Canadians such as retailer Galen Weston and former eBay Inc. president Jeff Skoll in the rankings.
The yoga wear company was founded in 1998.
The Lululemon founder sold a chunk of his stake in the company earlier this year, generating about US$211 million. The sale came after Lululemon chief executive Laurent Potdevin was accused of unprofessional behaviour.
“This transaction was driven by a desire to reallocate a small portion of capital to those growing businesses,” said Wilson. “This transaction is not an indication of my new confidence in Lululemon to hire a cultural leader.”
Wilson’s holding company Hold It All Inc. didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment on his net worth.
Wilson, 62, can’t claim too much credit for recent operational results at Lululemon. He stepped down from the board in 2015, two years after resigning as chairman following an interview on Bloomberg Television in which he said Lululemon’s pants “don’t work for some women’s bodies.” He apologized a week later.