Stephen Jarislowsky, Montreal investor and philanthropist, dies at 101

Stephen Jarislowsky, a Montreal-born investor and philanthropist who founded one of Canada's largest pension fund managers and spent decades championing corporate governance and democratic institutions, died at 101. He was born in Germany in 1925 and immigrated to Canada.

Jarislowsky founded Jarislowsky Fraser & Co. in Montreal in 1955 with just $100 of his own money and $50 from a partner. The firm grew to manage around $40 billion in assets by 2012, when Jarislowsky stepped down after leading it for more than six decades. Scotiabank acquired the company in 2018 for $950 million. According to Forbes, Jarislowsky's net worth was approximately US$3.9 billion.

He held degrees from Cornell University (mechanical engineering), the University of Chicago (Master's in Far Eastern studies), and Harvard Business School (MBA). Beyond his business career, Jarislowsky became known for his philanthropic focus on education and governance. The Jarislowsky Foundation, launched in 1991, has funded almost 48 research chairs across democracy, governance, environment, health, and Canadian art, donating about $10 million annually.

In recent years, Jarislowsky donated many millions to establish dozens of research chairs at Canadian universities and received honorary degrees from 20 institutions. McMaster University planted 99 trees to mark his 99th birthday. He was appointed to the Order of Canada and promoted to Companion, with the citation recognizing his support of higher education and his advocacy for strong corporate governance and shareholder rights. In 2002, he co-founded the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance to help empower shareholders and restore confidence in capital markets. He was instrumental in creating the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations of Quebec.

In 2022, Jarislowsky announced a $10 million gift to establish five endowed chairs at Canadian universities focused on training future politicians. He said at the time: "People need to understand historical experiences in order to prevent repeating them." He cited Russia's invasion of Ukraine and shifts toward totalitarianism as raising concerning parallels to political threats he witnessed in childhood, adding: "Once democracy disappears in a country, it takes years to re-establish if it is even possible."

Jarislowsky is survived by his wife Gail and three children.