Scott McGillivray

Early life

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Scott McGillivray developed an interest in business and real estate early in life. As a young man, he attended the University of Guelph, where his future career began to take shape through a school assignment on income properties. McGillivray made several insights while completing the project which he would soon turn into what was then a unique personal investment strategy. He earned an honours degree in Commerce from the University of Guelph in 2001.

By his early 20s, Scott McGillivray had already put this plan into motion, having purchased and renovated multiple rental properties, and proving his ability to turn undervalued real estate into profitable assets. This early success pre-saging his rise as pioneer of this practice. This hands-on experience eventually led him to obtain a contractor’s license in 2004, which allowed him to fully manage future renovations himself, without relying on outside technical supervision.

Career

Scott McGillivray’s auspicious television career began humbly, working behind the scenes, on home renovation shows with Debbie Travis. In doing so, he gained firsthand experience that would later serve him well, both in the realms of construction and TV production. His breakout moment came in 2009 when he was tapped to be the host of Income Property, a new show ordered by HGTV meant to provide guidance to homeowners on how to transform their underutilized spaces into profitable rental units. The show immediately resonated with audiences worldwide, rocketing McGillivray to celebrity status and becoming one of HGTV’s broadcast tentpoles. It would ultimately air in over 30 countries and run for nearly a decade. Income Property expanded from a half-hour to a one-hour format in 2013, the same year it won ‘Best Lifestyle Program or Series’ at the first ever Canadian Screen Awards. The series won two more of these awards in 2015, in the categories of ‘Best Lifestyle Program or Series’ and ‘Best Direction in a Lifestyle/Practical Information Program or Series’, respectively.

Building on this success, McGillivray continued to grow his presence in television, hosting and producing several other renovation and real estate shows, including Moving the McGillivrays, which chronicled the construction of his family home, Buyers Bootcamp, a reality series focused on real estate investment strategies, Vacation House Rules, where he helped homeowners turn vacation properties into income-generating rentals, and Renovation Resort, a competitive renovation series.

Beyond television, Scott McGillivray has leveraged his industry expertise to build an impressive business empire. He founded McGillivray Group in 2008 and McGillivray Entertainment in 2012. Both companies were created to support his growing career in
real estate, television, and business. After recognizing the need for widespread, easily accessible real estate education, he also co-founded Keyspire, a training company that teaches individuals how to achieve financial independence through strategic property investments, in 2010.

Overlapping with the rising use of social media by the general public, as his reputation grew, Scott McGillivray also began posting on several popular platforms—most notably Instagram—eventually claiming more than one million followers. With the publication of his first written work, How to Add Value to Your Home in 2014, he would add the title of author to his long list of accomplishments, as well. The book became a bestseller in his home country of Canada.

Scott McGillivray became an official ambassador for Habitat for Humanity in 2011, eager to use his flourishing celebrity status to promote charitable works in the arena of home construction.

Net Worth

Scott McGillivray’s net worth is estimated to be approximately $4 million.