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Tobias Lütke

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Tobias Lütke
MSC
Lütke in 2019
Born1980 (age 45–46)[1][2]
Koblenz, West Germany
Other nameTobi Lütke
Citizenship
  • Canadian
  • German[3]
OccupationBusinessman
TitleCEO of Shopify
Board member of
Coinbase
SpouseFiona McKean
Children3
AwardsMeritorious Service Cross (2018)
Categorisation FIA Bronze
Websitetobi.lutke.com

Tobias Lütke (born 1980[1]) is a German Canadian entrepreneur and racing driver who is the co-founder and CEO of Shopify, an e-commerce company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[4][5][6] He competes in the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship driving in LMP2 for Era Motorsport.[7]

Lütke has been part of the core team of the Ruby on Rails framework and has created open source libraries such as Active Merchant.[8] As of 2022, he was the 11th richest Canadian.[9] As of August 2025, his net worth was US$12.3 billion.[10]

Early life

[edit]

Lütke was born in Koblenz,[11] Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany in 1980.[1] He received a Schneider CPC (German brand of the Amstrad Colour Personal Computer distributed by the Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG) from his parents at the age of six.[12][11] By 11 or 12, he began rewriting the code of the games he played and modifying computer hardware as a hobby. Lütke graduated from school and entered an apprenticeship program at the Carl-Benz-School in Koblenz to become a computer programmer after the tenth grade.[13][14] He moved from Germany to Canada in 2003.[10]

During the early development of Shopify, Lütke lived in the Ottawa home of his parents-in-law, Bruce and Dale McKean, who were retired federal public servants.[15] Bruce McKean also provided early seed capital to fund the startup.[16]

Lütke cites John Carmack's .plan-files from the mid-1990s as "making a huge impression"[17] on him as a teenager and calls them "a master class in systems design".[18]

Career

[edit]

In 2004, Lütke, along with his partners, Daniel Weinand and Scott Lake, launched Snowdevil, an online snowboard shop.[4] Lütke built a new e-commerce platform for the site, using Ruby on Rails.[19][14][20] Soon after, the Snowdevil founders shifted their focus from snowboards to e-commerce and launched Shopify in 2006.[21][22]

Lütke did not collect a salary from his business venture during the launch phase. He was able to do this as he lived with his girlfriend Fiona McKean in her parent's home where the couple resided at low cost for approximately a decade. [23]

He currently owns 7% of Shopify, which went public in 2015.[24] Despite controlling a minority of the shares outstanding, he controls a 40% voting interest in Shopify due to a two-class voting structure.[25]

The Globe and Mail named Lütke "CEO of the Year" in November 2014.[26] Lütke was presented with the Meritorious Service Cross on November 5, 2018, for his work in supporting the growth of the Canadian technology industry.[27]

In October of 2019, Lütke donated over 1 million dollars to Team Trees.[28] This made him the largest donor in the project's history and marked a personal commitment to environmental protection.

On September 8, 2021, it was announced that Lütke, along with former and current Shopify top executives and Celtic House Venture Partners, invested $3 million in Creative Layer, "a global personalized print-on-demand platform for managing Shopify orders, proofs, fulfillment, and team members".[29]

On January 31, 2022, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced Lütke would join its board of directors.[30]

Criticism and controversies

[edit]

Platform content policies

[edit]

Lütke has faced criticism over his handling of Shopify's platform content policies and their enforcement.[31][32] Lütke has historically defended free speech in commerce, including hosting controversial clients like the far-right online tabloid Breitbart in 2017 by stating if they removed a merchant, they would be enforcing a moral code and questioned what as well as who should define it.[33][34]

Trade war between the United States and Canada

[edit]

In 2025, Lütke criticized the Canadian federal government for its decision to impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States after President Donald Trump enacted 25% tariffs on Canadian goods.[35] Lütke seemed afraid of escalation, stating that "hitting back will not lead to anything good. America will shrug it off", and softly described Trump's decision to put tariffs on Canada, saying, "Trump believes that Canada has not held its side of the bargain, and he set terms to prove that we still work together: get the borders under control and crack down on fentanyl dens."[35]

AI-first approach

[edit]

In April 2025, a memo from Lütke was leaked that revealed his demand that there would be no need for new hires at Shopify unless employees could justify why AI couldn't do the job.[36] Commentators speculated that the 'leaked' memo move was more about tackling comments about Shopify's rapidly dropping share price; new hires would be difficult to justify anyway when the company was financially struggling.[37] Over the subsequent months Shopify continued to lay off staff, as share prices continued to struggle.[38][39]

Voting rights controversy

[edit]

In July 2026, Lütke expressed support for setting voting rights proportional to the level of income tax paid by a citizen, with those paying no income tax being stripped of their voting rights and others gaining one additional vote for each $100,000 paid in income tax up to five votes per person. He also endorsed pensioners losing voting rights, describing them as state dependents.[40][41] The Canadian Civil Liberties Association noted that this proposal would violate Section 3 of the Charter, which guarantees all adult Canadian citizens the right to vote.[42]

During the controversy, Lütke further proposed that retirees on guaranteed pensions should be classified as "dependents" and stripped of their voting rights so that "people with a stake in the future decide."[43] The remarks triggered widespread public controversy, with media commentators highlighting the irony of his proposal given his own past efforts to secure a corporate "founder share" in 2022, which grants Lütke 40% of Shopify's voting control despite holding only a 6% economic stake.[44]

Media commentary and corporate governance experts highlighted that Lütke's proposals to restrict public voting rights contrasted with his own corporate voting structure at Shopify, where a 2022 "founder share" structure grants him 40% of the company's voting power despite holding only a 6% economic stake.[45]

Racing career

[edit]
Lütke at Watkins Glen in 2025

In 2025, Lütke entered the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship to compete in the LMP2 class driving for Era Motorsport alongside co-drivers Paul-Loup Chatin, Ryan Dalziel, and David Heinemeier Hansson.[7][46][6]

Racing career summary

[edit]
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2024 HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA - Amateur TWOth. Autosport 6 3 N/A N/A 5 44 1st
2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2 Era Motorsport 6 0 0 0 1 1647 15th
2026 IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2 TDS Racing 5 0 0 0 1 1284* 9th*
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 Pro-Am 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th

* Season still in progress.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rank Points
2025 Era Motorsport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY
4		 SEB
12		 WGL
4		 MOS
 ELK
5		 IMS
12		 ATL
3		 15th 1647
2026 TDS Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY
12		 SEB
7		 WGL
10		 MOS
9		 ELK
3		 IMS
 PET
 9th* 1284*

* Season still in progress.

24 Hours of Daytona results

[edit]
Year Class No Team Car Co-drivers Laps Position Class Pos.
2025 LMP2 18 United States Era Motorsport Oreca 07 France Paul-Loup Chatin
United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel
Denmark David Heinemeier Hansson		 764 12th 4th

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

[edit]
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2026 France TDS Racing Switzerland Mathias Beche
France Kévin Estre		 Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 355 27th 13th
LMP2 Pro-Am 5th

Personal life

[edit]

Lütke has three children with his wife Fiona McKean, a former Canadian diplomat.[47]

In 2015, Lütke and McKean purchased and relaunched a classic Ontario summer resort lodge named Opinicon near Chaffey's Locks on the Rideau River. [48][49][50]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 "The Knowledge Project #41: Tobi Lutke - The Trust Battery". HappyScribe. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Tobi". The Observer Effect. Archived from the original on July 5, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  3. ↑ Tobias Lütke [@tobi] (January 26, 2022). "Got my German citizenship back today Feeling incredibly grateful to be part of two such inspiring nations" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 26, 2022 – via Twitter.
  4. 1 2 "Fluke and luck: Shopify's co-founder profited from both". October 5, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  5. ↑ "THE CASE FOR SWAGGER: CANADIANS HAVE A LOT TO BE PROUD OF". May 22, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Lütke joins Era Motorsport for LMP2 run; Dalziel, Chatin and Hansson in for Daytona". RACER. December 5, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Motorsport, Era (December 5, 2024). "Era Motorsport Announces Chatin, Dalziel, Hansson, and Lütke for Rolex 24 Lineup". Era Motorsport. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Tobias Lutke, CEO, Shopify at Business of Software 2011". May 23, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Falling fortune: Shopify co-founder Tobi Lütke drops from second to 11th on Canada's rich list – Ottawa Business Journal". April 20, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Tobi Lutke". Forbes. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Ich war ein miserabler Schüler". Der Spiegel. November 30, 2017. Archived from the original on November 30, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Our Canadian CEO of the year you've probably never heard of". November 27, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Shopify: Koblenzer revolutioniert Onlineshops". May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  14. 1 2 "Against the Grain" (PDF). Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  15. ↑ McLean, Jesse (January 22, 2024). "The mysterious $100M donor who saved Shopify—and CAMH". The Logic. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Founders Parade: Shopify – Tobias Lütke". UBC Blogs. June 7, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ @tobi (February 11, 2021). "Had occasion to remember this series of articles by @ID_AA_Carmack from (I think?) August 1996 that ended up making a huge impression on me as a kid" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ @tobi (February 11, 2021). "The post are fun. Not only is it a master class in systems design it's also so... driven?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ↑ "Shopify picks up $7M in venture funding". December 13, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Top 5 Keys to Shopify's Success – an Interview with Tobias Lutke". December 22, 2010. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  21. ↑ "FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES: #1 - Shopify". May 3, 2010. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Shopify auf der Überholspur". February 10, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  23. ↑ "BOOK EXCERPT: The Shopify Story — it all started with snowboard sales". ottawacitizen. Archived from the original on December 17, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Tobi Lutke". Forbes. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Shopify shareholders approve founder's share for Tobi Lütke in preliminary tally". financialpost. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Shopify's Tobias Lutke Crowned CEO of 2014". November 27, 2014. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  27. ↑ Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (November 1, 2018). "Governor General to Honour Remarkable Canadians at Rideau Hall". The Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  28. ↑ https://teamtrees.org/
  29. ↑ "Creative Layer Receives $3 Million Investment from Tobi Lütke, Celtic House Venture Partners & Other Notable Investors". financialpost. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke to join board at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase". CBC. The Canadian Press. January 31, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Opinion: Society's brainworms have gotten so bad, we can't even recognize a swastika as a hate symbol". The Globe and Mail. February 13, 2025. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  32. ↑ Stone, Madeline. "Shopify employees found a noose emoji uploaded to Slack. Its CEO then silenced internal discussions". Business Insider. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Shopify CEO defends hosting Breitbart in the name of free speech". TechCrunch. August 17, 2017.
  34. ↑ Spence, Rick (May 8, 2025). "How Shopify went from Canada's tech darling to anti-DEI". Corporate Knights. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  35. 1 2 "Shopify CEO Lütke says Canada's tariff response 'the wrong choice'". The Globe and Mail. February 2, 2025.
  36. ↑ Laney, Douglas B. "Viral Shopify CEO Manifesto Says AI Now Mandatory For All Employees". Forbes.
  37. ↑ "Shopify CEO: No new hires, unless you prove AI can't do the job". The Hill.
  38. ↑ Riehl, Alex (January 22, 2026). "Shopify makes more job cuts, this time targeting partnerships team". BetaKit.
  39. ↑ Lin, Justin. "Shopify: Love The Company, Hate The Stock (Downgrade)". Seeking Alpha.
  40. ↑ Maimann, Kevin (July 28, 2026). "Shopify CEO appears to endorse giving more votes to wealthy Canadians". CBC News. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
  41. ↑ "tobi lutke (@tobi) on X". X (formerly Twitter). July 26, 2026. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
  42. ↑ "Why did a $154 billion CEO just endorse stripping most Americans of voting rights—and taking us back to the 19th century?". Yahoo News. July 27, 2026. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
  43. ↑ "Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke criticized over voting comments". ctvnews.ca. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
  44. ↑ Cohan, William D. (July 27, 2026). "Why did a $154 billion CEO just endorse stripping most Americans of their voting rights?". Fortune. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  45. ↑ "Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke calls pensioners 'dependents' who shouldn't get to vote". York University. July 31, 2026. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  46. ↑ O’Connell, R. J. (December 5, 2024). "Era Motorsport Confirms Rolex 24 Lineup | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  47. ↑ Berbano, Kate (March 2, 2022). "The 'anti-Bezos'? 6 things to know about Shopify's 'rebel' CEO Tobi Lütke". South China Morning Post. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  48. ↑ "First family of Shopify to restore Opinicon resort". January 28, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  49. ↑ accessed 15 Dec 2025, https://web.archive.org/web/20250623230317/https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/on/rideau/visit/posteeclusage-lockstation/ecluse-lock-chaffeys
  50. ↑ accessed 15 Dec 2025, https://web.archive.org/web/20200803231206/https://nationaltrustcanada.ca/online-stories/rebirth-of-the-rideaus-grand-old-dame
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