Peter Nygard Biography & Net Worth

Peter Nygard Biography & Net Worth

Peter J. Nygård is a Canadian Businessman and former fashion executive. He is the founder of Nygard International, a company that produces women’s apparel. He resigned as chairman of the company in 2020 after FBI raided headquarters of his company in the investigation of sex trafficking accusations against him by several women. In 2009, Peter Nygard net worth of $750 million qualified him to be named 70th richest Canadian by Canadian Business Magazine, and his financial value has since increased.

Peter Nygard’s Early Life

Peter Nygard was born on 24 July 1941 in Helsinki, Finland. His parents Eeli and Hikka immigrated to Canada in the year 1952 when Peter was an eleven year old child. They eventually settled in Winnipeg. Nygard was enrolled in the University of North Dakota. He graduated with a business degree in 1964.

Upon leaving college, Peter began doing a number of small jobs. He was employed as a sales manager for a company called Jacobs Fashions, which was a new line of women’s denim. In 1967, then 26-year-old Peter used his life savings, estimated to be $8,000 and a loan to buy a 20% stake in the company from the founder Nathan Jacob. A few years later, Peter bought Nathan out completely and renamed the business. Since then, he has never looked back and has gone on to accomplish so much from his multiple businesses.

Peter Nygard’s Career

On December 1, 1967, Peter Nygard started working for a company named Jacob’s Fashions. His position was that of a sales manager for the jeans line of a woman’s clothing manufacturer. A few weeks after his employment, he used his savings of $8,000 and an extra loan to acquire 20% of the company from the founder. A few years later, Peter acquired the rest of the company from the owner’s daughters and renamed it Tan Jay.

In the same 1967, Peter Nygard, 26 years old at that time, established his own apparel manufacturing business, called “Nygard”. In its early days the company made sportswear. Ten years later they expanded in the United States. Today, the company now known as Nygard International, has corporate headquarters located in Manhattan’s Times Square. The company has grown to become one of the world’s biggest women’s clothing producers and suppliers. The company generates approximately $500 million per year in revenue, employs 12,000 people around the world, and operates more than 200 retail stores in North America. Its products are carried at Costco, Dillard’s, Walmart, and more.

In 1987, Peter Nygard, 36 years old at that time built a 150,000-square-foot compound at Lyford Cay in the Bahamas which was partly destroyed by fire in November 2009. The Cay is inspired by an architecture of the Mayan civilization. One of the main structures is a massive 32,000 ft 2 grand-hall with a 50 US tons glass ceiling. In 2010, Peter announced a renovation of the Nygard Cay worth $50 million. The reconstruction process would see that 200 construction workers are employed and would take 2 years to complete and fix the damage caused by a fire incident. After his announcement, a letter from the Bahamian prime minister rejected his construction application, pointing at the improper expansion of his compound through intentional extension of land over the seabed.

On September 28, 2018, the Nygard Cay was seized by Bahamas’ Supreme Court as part of a legal battle surrounding Peter Nygard’s efforts to dredge the sea bed around the estate.

Personal Life & Controversies

Peter Nygard was married to Carol Knight in the 1970s for a brief period. He reportedly has an estimated Ten children from eight women.

He is an avid supporter of the research on breast cancer and has donated handsomely to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. He has supported the Bahamas team in Amateur Boxing Federation and played an important role in their Olympic success.

In February 2020, a total of 10 women filed a class-action lawsuit against Peter Nygard, accusing the business mogul of rapes that allegedly took place at his oceanfront mansion situated in the Bahamas. Peter has been accused of running a sex trafficking ring and recruiting underage women. The businessman has vehemently denied the accusations, reporting that they are a result of a paid smear campaign orchestrated by his Bahamanian neighbor, Louis Bacon. Bacon is the hedge fund billionaire with whom Peter has been in a decades-long feud.

Peter Nygard Net Worth

The Finnish-Canadian fashion executive has earned his wealth as the founder, owner and chairman of the Canada based company Nygard International, a manufacturer of women’s clothing. In 2009, Peter Nygard net worth of $750 million qualified him to be named 70th richest Canadian by Canadian Business Magazine, and his financial value has since increased with his investments and active engagements in multiple businesses. It is reported that Peter owns at least two Boeing 727 private jets, both that are decorated with his name across the body.

Peter Nygard net worth has been estimated at $900 million. As of this day, he is one of the richest business owners in Canada.