MIKE LAZARIDIS • Net Worth $800 million • House • Yacht • Private Jet • BlackBerry

Name:Mike Lazaridis
Net Worth:$ 800 million
Source of Wealth:Blackberry (Research in Motion)
Born:Month 9, 1953
Age:
Country:Greece / Canada
Wife:Ophelia Wai Fong Lazaridis
Children:2 (son and daughter)
Residence:Amberley, Canada (Lake Huron)
Private Jet:Bombardier Global 6000 (C-GXBB)
YachtArtefact


Mike Lazaridis, born in Turkey to Greek parents in 1961, moved to Canada with his family at the age of 5. Married to Ophelia and father to two children, Lazaridis is the founder of both BlackBerry / Research in Motion and Quantum Valley Investments.

At 12 years old, Lazaridis received an award at the Windsor Public Library for reading every science book in the library. He later enrolled at the University of Waterloo to study electrical engineering and co-founded RIM during his final year at the university. Lazaridis also holds an honorary doctoral degree in Engineering from the University of Waterloo and is the proud owner of the motor yacht Artefact.

BlackBerry and Research In Motion

BlackBerry Limited, a Canadian company specializing in enterprise software and the Internet of things, was originally named Research In Motion (RIM). The company is best known for its BlackBerry smartphone brand.
Founded in 1984 by Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin, Research In Motion Limited began as a wireless data technology developer. In 1999, RIM introduced the BlackBerry 850 pager, named after the blackberry fruit due to its keyboard’s resemblance to the fruit’s druplets. The BlackBerry device could receive push emails, and in 2000, RIM introduced the first BlackBerry smartphone. Despite the Apple iPhone’s arrival in 2007, BlackBerry continued to experience market share growth well into 2011, boasting 22 million users in 2020.

Quantum Valley Investments

Lazaridis, together with BlackBerry co-founder Douglas Fregin, established Quantum Valley Investments. The Quantum Valley Investment Fund provides financial and intellectual capital for the development and commercialization of quantum physics and quantum computing, aiming to transform early-stage breakthroughs and ideas into commercially viable products, technologies, and services.

Mike Lazaridis’ Net Worth

With an estimated net worth of $800 million, Lazaridis beneficially owned 4.99% of BlackBerry, according to a 2013 SEC statement. His approximately 26 million shares were worth around $125 million. In 2011, at the peak of BlackBerry’s success, Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.9 billion.

Philanthropy and the Lazaridis Family Foundation

Lazaridis actively engages in philanthropy through his Lazaridis Family Foundation. Alongside his wife Ophelia, they donated over $100 million to the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo in 2002. In 2012, they founded the Quantum-Nano Centre at the University of Waterloo.
Additionally, in 2015, Lazaridis donated $20 million to establish the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, a technology-focused management institute at Wilfrid Laurier University. In 2000, he founded the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI).

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MikeLazaridis

https://www.forbes.com/profile/mikelazaridis

https://quantumvalleyinvestments.com/about-qvi/

https://www.blackberry.com/

https://lazaridisinstitute.wlu.ca

https://uwaterloo.ca/ophelia-wai-fong-lazaridis

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Yacht Artefact Owner

Mike Lazaridis


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Mike Lazaridis House

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