Born September 2, 1959 in Quebec, Canada, Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil, was once a college bound kid with aspirations that outshone his peers. However, quickly growing tired of college, Laliberte put all his faith in his skills as an acrobat. Laliberte’s new life consisted of roaming the streets of Europe and Canada and picking up contortionists and musicians who enjoyed a similar lifestyle. Laliberte soon formed a small troop of acrobats with unusual talents and they supported themselves by putting on street performances and earning petty cash.

In 1984, once Laliberte assembled a full staff of talented performers, the team went to the Los Angeles for the legendary Arts Festival.

Laliiberte went on performing in Los Angeles continued to amount a small profit, until casino mogul and millionaire Steve Wynn witnessed Laliberte’s current troupe. Wynn brought the incredible performers to Las Vegas and offered Laliberte and his performers a chance at stardom. This visionary caught the attention of his audience by combining cultural themes with never before seen acrobatics. Each performance involved revolutionary acrobatics, among the backdrop of a storay.

With his notorious risk-taking, it is not surprising that he is also a professional poker player. He is a member of the online poker website Full Tilt Poker, where he places bets for over $17 million, as well as a regular on the Las Vegas strip.

In addition, Laliberte is also a major philanthropist. In 2007, he launched the One Drop Foundation to fight poverty by giving people access to water. This same year he was also awarded the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year in Quebec, Canada and Internationally. In 2009, he spent over $25 million and became the first Canadian space explorer. The mission was intended to raise awareness on Earth’s water crisis.

It is estimated that Laliberte now employs over 4,000 people and puts on 19 shows in over 271 cities. The Las Vegas show alone plays to over 9,000 people each night and over 70 million people in the world have seen a Cirque du Soleil performance. Laliberte has expanded his horizons beyond live shows and he now has television licenses and corporate sponsorships. Cirque du Soleil brings in an annual revenue well over $810 million.

In 2011 Laliberte plans on producing a performance centered on the life and music of the legend Michael Jackson. He has overcome many obstacles and put a lot on the line to become one of only 680 self-made billionaires in the world.

[Cirque du Soleil]