Share

Meet the men marijuana made into millionaires and billionaires

Pot is starting to pay off.

A surge in the share prices of cannabis companies have made millionaires, and even billionaires, out of investors. The pot-stock boom is expanding across the industry, with the most extreme example, Tilray Inc, seeing its shares catapult about 13-fold in the months since its July initial public offering.

Now these marijuana men are worth millions - or at least on paper. Given the volatility of stocks in the sector, their fortunes may be fleeting.

Brendan Kennedy, Michael Blue and Christian Groh, Tilray Inc

Valuation of stake: $7.2bn, about $2.4bn each assuming equal stakes at market close.

Background: Brendan Kennedy, 46, and his partners Michael Blue and Christian Groh, whose ages couldn’t immediately be confirmed, founded Seattle-based Privateer Holdings Inc in May 2010. The firm later invested in Canadian pot firm Tilray. The three have known one another for years. Kennedy and Blue are graduates of Yale School of Management’s MBA programme. Kennedy and Groh had worked together at SVB Analytics, an affiliate of Silicon Valley Bank.

Bruce Linton, Canopy Growth Corporation

Age: 52

Valuation of stake: C$184.9m ($142.6m)

Background: Bruce Linton is the CEO of Canopy Growth, one of the world’s largest pot companies, based out of a former Hershey’s chocolate factory in the sleepy town of Smith Falls, Ontario. The high-energy executive grew up on a small hobby farm in southern Ontario where he had a pet goat.

Terry Booth, Aurora Cannabis Inc

Age: 54

Valuation of stake: C$123.3m ($95.1m)

Background: Terry Booth, CEO of Aurora Cannabis, used to deal marijuana in high school, peddling quarter-ounce bags for C$25 to his friends. Earlier this year his company orchestrated the largest takeover in the industry when it agreed to buy CanniMed Therapeutics in a C$1.23bn deal.

John Cervini, Aphria Inc

Age: 47

Valuation of stake: C$186.7m ($144m)

Background: John Cervini co-founded Leamington, Ontario-based Aphria after he left his family’s greenhouse business that sold tomatoes and peppers. He and friend Cole Cacciavillani started looking into marijuana as a possible crop, though neither had experience growing the plant. Aphria was among the first publicly traded marijuana growers.

Some other notable winners:

Victor Neufeld, CEO of Aphria, C$37.1m ($28.6m); Jason Adler, independent director of Cronos Group Inc, C$115.9m ($89.4m); Michael Gorenstein, CEO of Cronos Group, C$28.3m ($21.8m.

Unless otherwise stated, valuations are based on Canadian share prices at market close.

* SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATE: Get Fin24's top morning business news and opinions in your inbox.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.98
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
24.08
+0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.59
+0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
+0.5%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.6%
Platinum
904.45
+0.2%
Palladium
999.75
-0.6%
Gold
2,152.84
-0.4%
Silver
24.91
-0.5%
Brent-ruolie
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
65,923
-0.5%
All Share
72,134
-0.4%
Resource 10
53,280
-0.1%
Industrial 25
99,477
-1.0%
Financial 15
16,643
+0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders