Founder and Chairman of Canadian mutual fund company AIC, Michael Lee-Chin appears on this month's front cover of Forbes' Billionaires Edition coming in at 618 with an estimated net worth of US$1.6 billion. The list is still headed by Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, who at 51 has an estimated net worth of US$56 billion.

At 56, this is the seventh time Lee-Chin has made the prestigious list and the first time he has appeared on the front cover of the billionaires edition. He is the first Jamaican to do so.

Speaking with Caribbean Business Report last night Lee-Chin said: "I am very proud and honoured to have appeared on Forbes' Billionaires Edition's front cover. There are two other blacks on the list namely Oprah Winfrey and Robert Johnson of BET, both from the world of entertainment where blacks traditionally tend to excel. With a career in financial services I have broken the mould and this should be an inspiration to other black people particularly those young people who are pursuing a career in financial services."

A leading member of the Jamaican business community echoed this sentiment. "Many black people look to entertainment and sports as a way out. Mike Lee-Chin is a true inspiration because he has succeeded in the world of business, which is not particularly the purview of Caribbean people. You ask most Caribbean youngsters out there what do they want to be and whom do they regard as successful.
The answer invariably is entertainers and sports stars.

"Lee-Chin's appearance in Forbes is a remarkable feat and one all Caribbean people should be proud of because he is one of us."

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