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Net Worth: John Risley, Clearwater, and the Building of a Billion-Dollar Empire
John Risley is rich. Very rich. A university dropout who aspired, as a boy, to become a millionaire, Risley has evolved into one of Canada’s most dynamic, risk-taking entrepreneurs—the co-creator and visionary behind three global companies, and an investor in businesses spanning space technology, electric vehicles, and biofuels. Though most often associated with Clearwater and the seafood sector (where his ideas transformed the Atlantic Canadian lobster industry into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise), John Risley acquired most of his wealth through unrelated businesses, including a huge gamble in Caribbean telecommunications. His name has become synonymous with conspicuous consumption; he spends extravagantly on houses, superyachts, private jets, prized Canadian artwork, and charitable causes.
Drawing on extensive research and interviews with family, long-time friends, and key business partners, as well as more than a dozen interviews with Risley himself, award-winning author Quentin Casey details how Risley became rich: how he built his businesses and made his fortune—and the luxuries it has provided him. Through expert storytelling and twenty black-and-white photos, Net Worth also explores the cost of amassing that wealth, and the personal price Risley has paid for his relentless pursuit of the next big deal.
Drawing on extensive research and interviews with family, long-time friends, and key business partners, as well as more than a dozen interviews with Risley himself, award-winning author Quentin Casey details how Risley became rich: how he built his businesses and made his fortune—and the luxuries it has provided him. Through expert storytelling and twenty black-and-white photos, Net Worth also explores the cost of amassing that wealth, and the personal price Risley has paid for his relentless pursuit of the next big deal.
376 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 13, 2023
13 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 12, 2023
Quentin Casey's biography of Atlantic Canadian business titan John Risley really hits the ball out of the park. Insightful, informative and written at exactly the right time. It gives as rounded and balanced a view of Risley and his businesses over the years as anyone could possibly achieve.
June 17, 2024
This is probably the most comprehensive biography of wealthy Atlantic Canadian billionaire John Risely currently available. It took author Quentin Casey several efforts to convince Risely to be a part of the project, but having agreed, he participated openly and fully. He invited Casey into his home, sat for over a dozen interviews, replied to fact checking emails and answered Casey’s many questions with generosity and patience. Casey found him eager to discuss his business ventures, especially his deal making, but he was also candid about the many business ventures that failed and the times he skated close to the financial edge. He was less open when it came to his personal life, which is only natural and to be expected. Casey also spoke with family members, longtime friends, and business partners, all helping to add to the story of how Risely created a huge, diverse profile of investments that continue to fuel his luxurious lifestyle. However, his fortune did not come without personal costs and he acknowledges his mistakes, some of which relate to his family.
John Risely’s path to becoming a wealthy entrepreneur is characterized by his obsessive pursuit of new challenges, the possibility of negotiating difficult deals and creating new businesses with a competitive edge. He is an aggressive investor, far more comfortable carrying huge debt than most entrepreneurs and driven by the need to succeed. He is known as a visionary by his business associates, as a philanthropist by the large number of organizations and individuals he has supported and as an uncaring and greedy SOB by his opponents. Some of the criticisms hurled at him sting, but most roll off his back, all he says are part of the game.
Casey describes what motivates the man by going back to his childhood growing up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, marked by the early death of his father and the financial struggles his mother was forced to manage to raise her family. Those financial stresses so affected him, he decided he never wanted to live his future under that kind of worry and vowed to become a millionaire by the time he was thirty.
Risely established a close friendship with Colin MacDonald and they both attended Dalhousie University. Risely left early, never graduated and began working, while MacDonald stayed on to graduate. The two became business partners and in 1976 invested in a small retail lobster store which over time they turned into an international seafood business they sold in 2021 for one billion dollars. Much of Casey’s narrative is devoted to that first business venture which took hard physical labour and a lot of moxie to get solidly off the ground. As novices in a business they knew little about, it was easier for them to question the traditional way of doing things, abandon what did not make sense and create new work methods. They pioneered the idea of storing live lobsters on land in storage tanks so they could buy lobster during the fishing season when supplies were healthy and prices were low, and sell them in the off season when supplies were low and prices were high. They established new markets, air freighting their seafood overseas to Europe and Asia, each eager for their fresh seafood. Although the Risely name is often associated with the lobster business, it was just one of three large businesses that served as a basis of his empire and is not the major source of his current wealth. In fact, he made much of his fortune elsewhere.
The second building block was Ocean Nutrition Canada, a company which developed Omega 3 fatty acid supplements that could be added to a variety of foods. It was eventually sold to a Dutch company for 600 million dollars. The last of the three, Columbus Communications, began as a small cable company and rode the massive wave of internet expansion during the 2000s. It transformed telecommunications in the Caribbean and Latin America and eventually triggered two multi-billion-dollar telecom mergers. It was that deal that is responsible for most of Risely’s accumulated wealth.
Casey describes how these businesses he pioneered came about, how deals were negotiated and the various bumps in the road along the way. He also touches on some of Risely’s other investments in a variety of businesses, such as space technology, electric vehicles, and biofuels.
The partnership between Risely and MacDonald worked because each brought different strengths to the table. Risely was the visionary and the wheeler-dealer who traveled widely, hunted down potential opportunities, loved the challenges others avoided, negotiated partnerships and secured the financing. MacDonald was the operations man, the one who stayed behind, managed the day-to-day affairs at the businesses and made sure things ran smoothly. The skills of both were needed to create the financial empire they created.
The partnership worked for over four decades and made both men very wealthy but turned sour and ended badly. Risely saw himself as the positive, ambitious partner, always fighting against MacDonald’s caution, criticisms and hesitation towards creating new businesses, while MacDonald grew tired of Risely’s lavish spending using their joint profits without consulting him and often for his own personal use. MacDonald watched as huge sums flowed out the door and Risely spent on real estate, yachts, sailing ventures and lavish vacations. The final straw came when Risely’s ex-wife Judi (MacDonald’s sister) accused him of not living up to their divorce agreement, an ongoing battle that ended up in the courts and is still not finalized. The acrimony over the divorce proved to be the final straw that broke the camel’s back. The fact they were all part of an extended family made their ongoing relationships very difficult.
Although the Risely name is widely recognized throughout Nova Scotia and much of his story is already in the public space, much of it is not, and this volume adds many details to the public profile of the man and his family, his partnership with Coilin MacDonald and his personal interests. He is sometimes described as robotic, focused only on work, ideas, deals and projects. Those who have worked with him describe him as restless, impatient and opinionated with a short attention span and often blunt and arrogant when presenting his ideas. He has frequent temper tantrums, yells a lot and pays little attention to those who work for him. But there is another side to the man, a softer side which shows him as someone who is shy, socially inept, avoids social situations and is ready to help those he believes need and deserve “a leg up”. He enjoys competitive sailing, fly fishing, enjoys dabbling in real estate and owns a number of homes and properties. He also owns a substantial collection of Canadian art including several Maud Lewis paintings. A voracious reader who loves books, he has three large fully stocked libraries, including volumes on military history. The books and the libraries are among his most prized possessions.
Risely has always been a philanthropist, publicly supporting Dalhousie University and the Halifax Infirmary, chairing their fund-raising drives and adding millions to their projects. However, little is known about his small acts of kindness that have never been recognized or publicized. He has supported students by covering tuition fees, bought computers for schools and helped those in need with cash to avoid foreclosure on their homes. He is also known for spending lavishly on himself, purchasing jet planes, huge mansions and boats. He has financially supported his extended family for years and continues to do so, providing them with whatever they needed or wanted, financing private school educations, homes, trips and vehicles.
This is a fascinating book that looks at a man who began with nothing, created a huge financial empire and whose name now appears in the same sentences as two other wealthy Atlantic families, the McCains and the Irvings. It repeats a similar pattern, that wealth brings the bad with the good, creating stresses, fracturing families and close relationships. In Atlantic Canada there are different views on Risely’s accomplishments, but whatever the view, what is not in dispute is the huge impact he has had on the province and the business world.
John Risely’s path to becoming a wealthy entrepreneur is characterized by his obsessive pursuit of new challenges, the possibility of negotiating difficult deals and creating new businesses with a competitive edge. He is an aggressive investor, far more comfortable carrying huge debt than most entrepreneurs and driven by the need to succeed. He is known as a visionary by his business associates, as a philanthropist by the large number of organizations and individuals he has supported and as an uncaring and greedy SOB by his opponents. Some of the criticisms hurled at him sting, but most roll off his back, all he says are part of the game.
Casey describes what motivates the man by going back to his childhood growing up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, marked by the early death of his father and the financial struggles his mother was forced to manage to raise her family. Those financial stresses so affected him, he decided he never wanted to live his future under that kind of worry and vowed to become a millionaire by the time he was thirty.
Risely established a close friendship with Colin MacDonald and they both attended Dalhousie University. Risely left early, never graduated and began working, while MacDonald stayed on to graduate. The two became business partners and in 1976 invested in a small retail lobster store which over time they turned into an international seafood business they sold in 2021 for one billion dollars. Much of Casey’s narrative is devoted to that first business venture which took hard physical labour and a lot of moxie to get solidly off the ground. As novices in a business they knew little about, it was easier for them to question the traditional way of doing things, abandon what did not make sense and create new work methods. They pioneered the idea of storing live lobsters on land in storage tanks so they could buy lobster during the fishing season when supplies were healthy and prices were low, and sell them in the off season when supplies were low and prices were high. They established new markets, air freighting their seafood overseas to Europe and Asia, each eager for their fresh seafood. Although the Risely name is often associated with the lobster business, it was just one of three large businesses that served as a basis of his empire and is not the major source of his current wealth. In fact, he made much of his fortune elsewhere.
The second building block was Ocean Nutrition Canada, a company which developed Omega 3 fatty acid supplements that could be added to a variety of foods. It was eventually sold to a Dutch company for 600 million dollars. The last of the three, Columbus Communications, began as a small cable company and rode the massive wave of internet expansion during the 2000s. It transformed telecommunications in the Caribbean and Latin America and eventually triggered two multi-billion-dollar telecom mergers. It was that deal that is responsible for most of Risely’s accumulated wealth.
Casey describes how these businesses he pioneered came about, how deals were negotiated and the various bumps in the road along the way. He also touches on some of Risely’s other investments in a variety of businesses, such as space technology, electric vehicles, and biofuels.
The partnership between Risely and MacDonald worked because each brought different strengths to the table. Risely was the visionary and the wheeler-dealer who traveled widely, hunted down potential opportunities, loved the challenges others avoided, negotiated partnerships and secured the financing. MacDonald was the operations man, the one who stayed behind, managed the day-to-day affairs at the businesses and made sure things ran smoothly. The skills of both were needed to create the financial empire they created.
The partnership worked for over four decades and made both men very wealthy but turned sour and ended badly. Risely saw himself as the positive, ambitious partner, always fighting against MacDonald’s caution, criticisms and hesitation towards creating new businesses, while MacDonald grew tired of Risely’s lavish spending using their joint profits without consulting him and often for his own personal use. MacDonald watched as huge sums flowed out the door and Risely spent on real estate, yachts, sailing ventures and lavish vacations. The final straw came when Risely’s ex-wife Judi (MacDonald’s sister) accused him of not living up to their divorce agreement, an ongoing battle that ended up in the courts and is still not finalized. The acrimony over the divorce proved to be the final straw that broke the camel’s back. The fact they were all part of an extended family made their ongoing relationships very difficult.
Although the Risely name is widely recognized throughout Nova Scotia and much of his story is already in the public space, much of it is not, and this volume adds many details to the public profile of the man and his family, his partnership with Coilin MacDonald and his personal interests. He is sometimes described as robotic, focused only on work, ideas, deals and projects. Those who have worked with him describe him as restless, impatient and opinionated with a short attention span and often blunt and arrogant when presenting his ideas. He has frequent temper tantrums, yells a lot and pays little attention to those who work for him. But there is another side to the man, a softer side which shows him as someone who is shy, socially inept, avoids social situations and is ready to help those he believes need and deserve “a leg up”. He enjoys competitive sailing, fly fishing, enjoys dabbling in real estate and owns a number of homes and properties. He also owns a substantial collection of Canadian art including several Maud Lewis paintings. A voracious reader who loves books, he has three large fully stocked libraries, including volumes on military history. The books and the libraries are among his most prized possessions.
Risely has always been a philanthropist, publicly supporting Dalhousie University and the Halifax Infirmary, chairing their fund-raising drives and adding millions to their projects. However, little is known about his small acts of kindness that have never been recognized or publicized. He has supported students by covering tuition fees, bought computers for schools and helped those in need with cash to avoid foreclosure on their homes. He is also known for spending lavishly on himself, purchasing jet planes, huge mansions and boats. He has financially supported his extended family for years and continues to do so, providing them with whatever they needed or wanted, financing private school educations, homes, trips and vehicles.
This is a fascinating book that looks at a man who began with nothing, created a huge financial empire and whose name now appears in the same sentences as two other wealthy Atlantic families, the McCains and the Irvings. It repeats a similar pattern, that wealth brings the bad with the good, creating stresses, fracturing families and close relationships. In Atlantic Canada there are different views on Risely’s accomplishments, but whatever the view, what is not in dispute is the huge impact he has had on the province and the business world.
January 3, 2024
Quentin Casey has written what appears to be a comprehensive portrait of one of Atlantic Canada's most well-known entrepreneurs. I appreciate that the book was not just about the good times. The Risley story is fascinating.
August 26, 2025
Marriage for One by Ella Maise is a slow-burn romance that beautifully blends tenderness, vulnerability, and emotional depth. The story follows Jack, a stoic and seemingly unfeeling man, and Rose, a warm, determined woman who unexpectedly enters his carefully controlled life. What begins as a practical arrangement slowly transforms into a heartfelt journey of trust, growth, and genuine love. Maise’s writing shines in her ability to craft layered characters whose flaws and guardedness make their eventual connection all the more satisfying. The pacing is deliberate, allowing readers to savor every stolen glance and unspoken emotion, making the payoff deeply rewarding. With its mix of witty banter, simmering tension, and emotional sincerity, Marriage for One is a captivating read for fans of character-driven romance and slow-burn storytelling so much so that while reading, you might even find yourself drifting to unrelated curiosities like is allen millyard married , only to be pulled right back into Jack and Rose’s irresistible story.
July 28, 2023
This is a splendid study of a complicated man. Casey had great access to Risley and his circle and he drew out a lot of information never revealed before. Trained as a business reporter, he understands Risley's businesses and also reveals keen insights about the man. It's no puff piece, but Casey is really fair in pushing back against some of the popular criticism against Risley.
August 15, 2023
Not your typical "rags to riches" story. Highly recommend!
December 30, 2024
Fascinating insight and very well-written. This is a very thorough book. I don't know how relevant/interesting it would be to people outside of Atlantic Canada, but I am definitely in the target audience (and even know some of the minor players in this book) and lapped it up. I will look out for more of this author's work.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews