Benjamin Weider was born on February 1, 1923 in Montréal, Québec, Canada, to Louis and Anna Weider, Polish Jewish emigrants from the town of Kurów in Poland. He served in the Canadian Army during World War II.

In 1975 he was made a Member of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Officer in 2006. In 2000, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. On October 12, 2000, he received the French Legion of Honor, that country’s highest honour, which was established by Bonaparte himself. Weider was also a 1984 nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, a member of the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame, and a Commander of the Venerable Order of St. John. He also had several honorary doctorate degrees. The Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at the Florida State University History Department has recently created the Ben Weider Chair in Revolutionary Studies. In total, Ben accumulated over 66 awards and honours during his lifetime.

From 1998 to 2005, Ben Weider was Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the 62nd (Shawinigan) Field Artillery Regiment, RCA. In 2005, he was promoted to Honorary Colonel of that military unit. In October 2006, Ben Weider unexpectedly retired as president of the IFBB.

In 2008, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th Anniversary Arnold Classic (only the eighth time in the competition’s history that this award had been presented).

Weider died on October 17, 2008, at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.

A movie called Bigger was released in 2018 on the life of Ben Weider and his brother Joe Weider. Tyler Hoechlin played Joe Weider, while Julianne Hough plays Betty Weider, his wife, Aneurin Barnard acted in the role of Ben Weider and Calum Von Moger portrayed Arnold Schwarzenegger.