People
The First Sikh Billionaire?
by GORDON PITTS
Bob (Navjeet Singh) Dhillon embodies the immigrant success story - Sikh family is forced out of West Africa; son makes a fortune buying, upgrading and managing apartment buildings in Alberta. The irrepressible Mr. Dhillon (pronounced like Dylan) is also a complex personality who zealously promotes his public company, Mainstream Equity Corp.; is a cancer survivor who shies away from talking about it; and is prone to irreverent comments that, he admits, he may later regret.
People who phone you must think they hear "this is Bob Dylan's office". Have you thought of changing your name?
Dhillon is a common Sikh last name. If you go into the Toronto white pages, you will see thousands of Dhillons.
But don't you have to endure tiresome jokes?
Yep, I just say it's spelled differently.
How did you end up in the property business?
Growing up as a kid in Canada, some of the business icons were the Reichmanns, Donald Trump and Campeau. I was a commerce-inclined youth, and I wanted to make something of myself, as all immigrants do.
Real estate is one of the most interesting ways to make money. After the Reichmanns and Trump, came the tech boom, and the era of the investment bankers. But in my adolescent years, the programming years of my mind, it was real estate.
Don't you come from a business background?
My dad was born in Hong Kong, a third generation trader - although my roots are in Punjab, India where all the Sikhs come from. I was born in Japan and we migrated to Liberia, which was one of our trading outposts. But after a coup in Liberia, we became economic refugees and lost everything and we moved to Canada.
Do you have to explain your background to people?
People want to know why I have this olive skin, black hair and brown eyes, or whatever the case. I just nip it in the bud and tell them what I am and where I come from, instead of just playing guessing games.
One of the most interesting phenomena is how they've coined the term "South Asian". It's an Eastern Canadian phenomenon, I think. But what is South Asian? Who's North Asian, who's East Asian, who's Sikh-Canadian? Get serious, guys.
You want to put people in a box. I tell you the box I want to be in - Canadian, that's it. But people keep putting me in these boxes.
Yet, I always said that whatever success I have, I owe it to Canada, and more so to Alberta.
Why Alberta?
I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but sometimes I have to speak from the heart. When I talk to young guys from Ontario, when I ask what they want to be when they grow up - like the people in my MBA class at Western - they all want to be part of a corporate organization.
It's a case of "I want to be an investment banker, senior vice-president of CIBC World Markets, or the head mortgage guy, or work for Price Waterhouse".
But you ask an Albertan and he'll tell you, "I want to be an entrepreneur".
What brought you out here?
Freedom. I was already working in Calgary a while before I did my MBA at Western. It's freedom in every aspect - freedom of thought, freedom of mentality, freedom that, "yes, I can do it".
Where does this come from?
I think it's the rural farm-boy mentality. Whether they come from Saskatchewan, Alberta, or wherever, they bring this non-structured approach, this ability to wheel and deal. They're self-reliant. Alberta works long hours too. For me, eighty hours a week is nothing.
But is Alberta attracting immigrants?
Not as much as we should. I think when immigrants land in Canada, they want to go to their comfort zone. They're in a new environment, they're scared and they're concerned about culture, language and laws. So they feel comfortable in Vancouver and Toronto, or, if they're French-speaking, in Montreal. And there is this stereotype image of Calgary.
That it is populated by rednecks?
Yeah, and I don't think that's the case at all. What I love about Albertans is they say what's in their heart. They are a little bit like the Australians - they are open-hearted.
How is your apartment business coping with the economic uncertainty?
I think this is the most bullet-proof business. First, it fills a need. There are the demographics, which means the echo generation and immigration will continue to fuel that need ... Also, the whole multi-family world [of apartment buildings] trades below replacement costs. It's a fragmented industry, the only product area left to be consolidated.
But aren't you dependent on the energy boom continuing?
That's why I'm diversifying. I'm buying apartment buildings in the lower mainland of British Columbia - we've got Abbotsford, we've got Surrey. I was in Saskatoon before it got hot.
You told your MBA class you wanted to be the first Sikh billionaire. Is that still the aim?
I hope sooner, rather than later. Don't think of this as a materialistic guy with a big ego, which is how they want to portray me. That's not the real reason. I want to be a symbol and mentor for the young Sikhs of Canada. I came with nothing, I got my MBA here, I got my education, I went to the school of hard knocks. It hasn't always been easy, but if I can make it, those guys can do an even better job.
But there must be a Sikh billionaire somewhere else in the world.
I don't know, but if there is one, please come out of the closet.
BOB DHILLON
Title: President and CEO, Mainstreet Equity Corp., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Born: 1965 in Kobe, Japan
Education: Studied at Langara College, Vancouver; 1998 - MBA, Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario.
Career highlights: Has never been an employee.
Early career: Ran trading company in Vancouver; bought and sold properties in Calgary.
Early 1990s: Visited Belize in Central America, leading to the purchase of a 2,400-acre island, which he has been developing for resort and housing.
1997: Founded Mainstreet to buy, improve and manage multi-family dwellings.
[Courtesy: The Globe & Mail]
Conversation about this article
1: Jaspal (Toronto, Canada), October 24, 2007, 10:17 AM.
Interesting Article. But wasn't Kartar Singh Thakral the first Sikh billionaire?
2: Rajinder Singh (Richmond Hill, New York, U.S.A), October 24, 2007, 7:27 PM.
Kartar Singh Thakral is already the first Sikh billionaire in Malaysia/Singapore.
3: Pritam Singh (Edison, New Jersey, U.S.A), October 25, 2007, 4:40 PM.
The Ranbaxy Pharmaceutical owners Malvinder and Shivender Singh are already billionaires. The brothers are worth 2 billion U.S. dollars.
4: D.J.Singh (U.S.A.), October 25, 2007, 7:49 PM.
Sikhism is about community living and Dasvandh refers to the religious obligation of contributing one-tenth of a Sikh's earning towards the common resources of the community. Guru Nanak started the idea of sharing and giving for sangat and community langar. Guru Amar Das channelized the giving process by establishing manjis. Guru Ram Das asked the Sikhs to set apart a minimum of ten percent of their income for the common pool. Guru Gobind Singh codified the custom of Dasvandh in documents called rehatnamas. Christians give a tenth of their earning as Tithe to support the church and the clergy. Jews give 10% of their income to charity as Tzedakah. Islam assigns 2.5 percent of one's annual wealth as Zakaah for the welfare of the destitute and needy. Buddhists encourage giving but do not stipulate an amount. I urge all Sikhs including our respected millionaires and billionaires to contribute their dasvandh for the betterment of the Sikh community. Invest in various projects in Punjab, rehabilitate the families of pogrom victims, and contribute generously for image building in the diaspora. May God bless you all!
5: Gurvinder Singh (Warwick, England), October 28, 2007, 2:10 AM.
D.J. Singh, why restrict dasvandh to the Sikh community? Since when were we such an insular religion? Dasvandh should be for humanity as well as for Sikhs.
6: Ari Singh (Sofia, Bulgaria), October 28, 2007, 5:55 PM.
There maybe other candidates for this status: Sant Singh Chhatwal in the U.S.A., and probably Sanjiv Singh Sidhu, and Rekhi of Silicon Valley.
7: D.J.Singh (U.S.A.), October 28, 2007, 7:30 PM.
Charity begins at home!
8: Kiran Kaur Grewal (Villa Park, California), October 29, 2007, 1:14 AM.
A good role model for the "young Sikhs of Canada" should live the tenets of Sikhi.
9: Jagdeep Singh (London, England), October 29, 2007, 6:50 PM.
D.J. Singh ji, not a single one of our Gurus ever uttered the equivalent of the phrase, 'Charity begins at home'. Not a single one said dasvandh or seva should be narrow and parochial and insular. On the contrary, they said that dasvandh and seva should be done with an attitude of serving the whole of humanity. That is the spirit of Sikhi, and it is very different from the insular interpretation you have applied to it. Recognise all humanity as one.
10: D.J.Singh (U.S.A.), October 29, 2007, 9:32 PM.
There are indeed innumerable methods of serving humanity and Sikhism does not restrict us. Sikh Coalition is doing an excellent job in serving the community in the USA. Sikhchic.com has started a commendable initiative in intellectual discussions. Sardar T. Sher Singh initiated an effort of encouraging Sikh authors and others writing about Sikhs. We are now aware of the availability of resources in the diaspora. Why not make a collective effort to rehabilitate the families of the victims of the Sikh Holocaust rather than just talk about their plight in different forums. Different communities throughout the world have taken a lead in helping their own. I am sure helping our own community will not label us as narrow minded. On the other hand, any effort made by our brothers and sisters in serving humanity (not restricted to any religion or culture) is commendable.
11: Jagdeep Singh (London, England), October 30, 2007, 11:56 AM.
D.J. Singh, presenting as a principle the idea that we should not devote ourselves to any causes that do not involve Sikhs, is a direct contravention of the teaching of the Gurus. There is nothing wrong with helping specifically Sikh causes. Asserting, like you did in previous posts, that this should be the hardline rule of all seva and dasvandh, is a violation of the spirit of Sikhi, as laid down by the Gurus. This is the point that I was making. I feel that one should not make definitive and restrictive statements about seva and dasvandh.
12: M. Kaur (Washington D.C., U.S.A.), November 24, 2007, 2:23 PM.
If all are equal in the "eyes" of God, why give to Sikh charities rather than ones serving the orphans in Africa?
13: Gurjap Singh (Toronto, Canada), December 15, 2007, 12:52 AM.
Never heard of him before.
14: Jasvinder Singh (Brampton, Canada), January 08, 2008, 11:12 AM.
I completely agree with D.J. Singh: Charity begins at home, but should not be restricted to helping our own folks. We should help others as well; after all, that is what Sikhi teaches us to do.
15: AS (Canada), April 06, 2008, 2:00 AM.
Tom Singh is also a Sikh billionaire in the U.K.
16: David (U.S.A.), September 01, 2008, 11:31 PM.
Sikhi is from within and without. Why does sikhchic.com also show subjects as Sikhs who are not identifiable as Sikhs? [Editor: Please check out our editorials on the Columnists Page for the answer.]
17: Ron Singh (Vancouver, Canada), December 23, 2008, 2:31 AM.
I believe the very private and unassuming Manns of British Columbia are also billionaires. They are involved in derivative trading and oil leases in the middleast.