Up for auction a RARE! "Cirque du Soleil" Guy Laliberté Hand Signed 6X4 Color Photo.
ES-6176E
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. Laliberté was born in 1959 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. His interest in show business began at a
relatively young age. His parents took him to watch the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, an
experience which led Laliberté to read the biography of P. T. Barnum. While he was still in school, Guy produced
several performing arts events. After
school, Laliberté left Canada to hitchhike around Europe at the age of 18.
While traveling, he made his money by playing the accordion. Also, he learnt
the craft of fire eating and stilt walking during his time abroad, becoming
upon his return home a real street
performer on the streets of Quebec. Laliberté joined a
performing troupe called Les Échassiers, which included fire-breathers,
jugglers, and acrobats who hitchhiked around the country to shows. He later returned
to Quebec, where he obtained a full-time job at a hydroelectric dam. However, soon after his employment began,
the company's employees went on strike. Laliberté took the opportunity to
return to his life as a street performer. In 1980, he ran as a Rhinoceros
Party candidate for the electoral district of Charlevoix in
the 1980 federal election.
Guy Laliberté co-founded Quebec's first internationally renowned circus
with Gilles Ste-Croix and
a small group of colleagues. He recognized and cultivated the talents of the
buskers from the Fête foraine de Baie-Saint-Paul and created Cirque du Soleil
in 1984 with the support of a government grant for the celebration of the 450th
anniversary of Jacques Cartier's discovery
of Canada.[11] Cirque du Soleil was originally set up as a
one-year project. However, the government of Quebec wanted a touring event that
would perform in other provinces. The name 'Cirque du Soleil' ("circus of
the sun"), which Laliberté came up with while he was in Hawaii, reflects
his notion that "the sun stands for energy and youth" and that the
circus is about those two words. In founding the company, Guy Laliberté
was assisted by Gilles Ste-Croix. It is said that Laliberté is the
"father" of Cirque du Soleil while Ste-Croix is the
"grandfather." Since
1984, Laliberté has participated in the creation of every Cirque du Soleil
show. Cirque du Soleil has become a sprawling international operation, as much
in terms of its makeup as in the scope of its activities and influence. The
organization now has activities on five continents. Its shows employ
approximately 4,000 people from over 40 countries and generate an estimated
annual revenue exceeding US $810 million. In
2015 he sold 90% of his stock in the company. On February 17, 2020, he sold the
remaining 10% to Caisse de
dépôt et placement du Québec.