Guy Laliberté, OC CQ (born 2 September 1959) is a Canadian billionaire businessman, and poker player. Along with Gilles Ste-Croix, he is the co-founder of Cirque du Soleil. In January 2018, Laliberté was ranked by Forbes as the 11th wealthiest Canadian.
In 1984, Laliberté founded Cirque du Soleil. The Canadian circus company's shows have since been seen by more than 90 million people worldwide. Prior, he busked, performing as an accordion player, stiltwalker and fire-eater. In 2006, Laliberté was named the Ernst & Young Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2007, he was named Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Following an announcement from Cirque du Soleil in April 2015 concerning a change in ownership, Laliberté will maintain a stake in the business and will continue to provide strategic and creative input to the company.
