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The rich 100: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001
The rich list | What's in a name? | They got game | The other RIM guy | The burger king
Finding new people for the Rich 100 is no easy task. It's not as if potential candidates for our exclusive listing of Canada's richest people shout out details of their wealth. But this year we managed to find some new faces — six of them, in fact — with three based outside of Canada adding an international flavour.
The task of estimating personal fortunes and digging up new names for the list was undertaken by senior associate editor Alex Mlynek, senior writer Zena Olijnyk, staff writer Calvin Leung, and associate editors Claire Gagné and Michelle Magnan. So alongside this year's ranking are profiles of the newest members of the Rich 100 as well as some updates and features on a few familiar faces. Heck, we even managed to get some of Canada's wealthiest waxing poetic about their dogs.
All in all it was a pretty good year for the 100 richest Canadians, with their collective net worth, at $141.6 billion, the highest it's ever been since we starting the annual ranking, in 1999. Once again, oil money was a big factor in increasing their affluence, which jumped 9% over the previous year.
A note on our methodology: Our research staff spent many hours during the past few months studying proxies, insider trading reports, news articles and other sources to estimate the net worth of Canada's corporate elite.
Rich 100 Methodology
Jimmy Pattison — The Wolf Man
Canada's fifth richest person opens Ontario's newest hotel.
Jeff Skoll — The Movie Mogul
Who said being socially responsible with your money couldn't be fun?
Alex Shnaider — The Steel Magnate
Born in St.Petersburg and raised in Israel and Toronto, This entrepreneur has taken risks few members of the Rich 100 could stomach.
John MacBain — The Classified Ad King
Yahoo, Google and News Corp have all been named as possible suitors for the business MacBain and his ex-wife built.
Louise Blouin MacBain — The Art-World Aficionado
She started her fortune in classified advertising with her ex-husband, but now she's focused on the world of art.
What's In A Name?
Being rich brings perks like exclusive club memberships, stately homes and hordes of servants. Spreading the money around can also lead to having institutions named after you.
They Got Game
Canada's wealthiest are talented business people, but it doesn't seem to stop some of them from getting their feet wet in the uncertain world of sports ownership.
Energy Barons
It may seem like anyone could have made money in oil this year, but it takes a special knack to make $1.1 billion in a single year.
Douglas Fregin — The Other RIM Guy
Everyone's heard of Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsille. Company Co-found and Vice-president Douglas Fregin is less familiar, but still hugely wealthy.
Peter Nygård — Fashion Maven
The Finnish born head of Nygård International may only spend about six weeks a year in Winnipeg, but he hasn't forgotten his Canadian roots.
John Risley And Michael Lee-Chin — The Cable Guys
For some this duo might look like a team resembling the Bad News Bears.
Jack Cowin — The Burger King
Cowin has become one of the richest people in Australia by building an empire on hamburgers, pizza and fried chicken.
Peter Gilgan — The Builder
When he started building residential houses in the late '70s Gilgan wanted to try something new — building homes according to human needs.
Profile: Well-heeled
Aldo Bensadoun created a global shoe empire.
Pursuits: Mad Money
Forget the latest Lexus or a new indoor lap pool. Here are five ways to have some real fun with your disposable income.
1. KENNETH THOMSON AND FAMILY
$22.16 billion
The Thomsons' holding company, Woodbridge Co. Ltd., announced plans to increase its stake in Bell Globemedia to 40% from 31.5%, replacing BCE Inc. as the largest shareholder. The cost to Woodbridge: $120 million. Two new shareholders — the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Torstar Corp. — will each acquire 20% of the multimedia giant, pending regulatory approval.
2. GALEN WESTON
$9.28 billion
With a nod to both the future and the past this year, the chairman of Canada's largest grocer approved a $95-million plan to modernize Loblaw's distribution system, toasted the marriage of his son, Galen Weston Jr., to Alexandra Schmidt, and promised to preserve Canadian history after officials confirmed that a decrepit building on the site of a proposed Selfridges department store in Glasgow, Scotland, was in fact the birthplace of Sir John A. MacDonald.
3. JAMES (J. K.), ARTHUR AND JOHN (JACK) IRVING
$5.36 billion
In June, Irving Oil Ltd. partnered with Repsol YPF, Europe's fifth-largest oil company, to build a $750-million liquefied natural gas terminal in Saint John, N.B. The facility stirred up controversy when provincial legislators voted to cap annual property taxes at $500,000 for 25 years.
4. JEFF SKOLL
$5.07 billion
See story: Jeff Skoll — The Movie Mogul.
5. JAMES (JIMMY) PATTISON
$4.5 billion
The former newspaper delivery boy and long-time billionaire expanded his media holdings in March with the West Coast launch of 24 Hours, a free commuter daily. The 50-50 venture with Quebecor Inc. got off to a slow start, however, when City of Vancouver workers seized 1,000 of the tabloid's bright orange boxes due to a lack of permits. See additional story: Jimmy Pattison — The Wolf Man.
6. PAUL DESMARAIS SR.
$4.25 billion
The 78-year-old chairman of Power Corp., and richest man in Quebec, was hospitalized for 30 days after suffering a mild stroke on May 31. Meanwhile, his sons Andre and Paul Jr. heard a mouthful from shareholder-rights advocate Yves Michaud at the Power Corp. AGM. Stock options allowed the co-CEOs to more than double their salaries in 2004.
7. EDWARD (TED) ROGERS JR.
$3.65 billion
Canada's largest cable provider entered the land-line telephone business this summer with the $330-million all-share takeover of Sprint Canada parent Call-Net Enterprises Inc. The deal gave Rogers Communications Inc. more than 200,000 new customers and cleared the way for it to compete in the voice-over-Internet-protocol phone business.
8. SAPUTO FAMILY
$3 billion
The founder of Quebec-based food giant Saputo Inc., Lino Saputo Sr., scored with fans of the world's most popular sport in May by donating $7.5 million to the construction of a new 13,500-seat soccer stadium in Montreal. The facility will be home base to the Impact, the Canadian Soccer Association franchise headed by his son Joey.
9. BERNARD (BARRY) SHERMAN
$2.59 billion
This fall, Sherman's Apotex Inc., Canada's largest manufacturer of no-name drugs, began preliminary work on a generic version of Tamiflu, the short-supplied Roche drug that may reduce the severity of the avian flu. The company expects to know by the end of the year if the drug is viable.
10. DAVID AZRIELI
$2.37 billion
The Canpro Investments head honcho added to his diverse real estate holdings this year with the purchase of Montreal's Dominion Square building. The 83-year-old Polish-Canadian architect reportedly paid $78.25 million for the historic 1927 limestone building at the corner of Ste. Catherine and Peel streets.
11. CLAY RIDDELL
$2.35 billion
The 68-year-old oil baron moved up our list by 12 notches this year thanks to high energy prices and the spinoff of Paramount Resources Ltd.'s steady-producing natural gas properties in central Alberta into an income trust. With about 30 million shares of both Paramount and The Trilogy Energy Trust, the Calgary-based billionaire almost doubled his wealth.
12. MICHAEL LEE-CHIN
$2.24 billion
AIC Ltd.'s motto of "Buy. Hold. And Prosper" was put to the test this year as investors continued to cash out of Lee-Chin's mutual fund company. By September, assets were down 20%, with redemptions of close to $2 billion. Compounding AIC's troubles was a $59-million settlement with the OSC over allegations of market timing. See additional story: John Risley And Michael Lee-Chin — The Cable Guys.
13. FRED AND RON MANNIX
$2.15 billion
The grandson of an Alberta construction pioneer, Calgary's Ron Mannix was honoured in September with an appointment to the Order of Canada for his philanthropy. The often-anonymous donor has supported universities, medical research initiatives, social services and cultural organizations.
14. DARYL KATZ
$1.89 billion
Katz Group Canada Ltd., Canada's highest-grossing drugstore retailer, grew even larger this year with the opening of roughly one new store every nine days, while continuing to rebrand its existing Pharma Plus and Herbies stores under the Rexall banner.
15. HARRISON MCCAIN FAMILY
$1.89 billion
With demand for potatoes in India increasing 33% per year, McCain Foods Ltd., the world's largest frozen french fry manufacturer, is looking to the home of the samosa for new profits. In June, it broke ground on an $18-million processing plant in Gujarat province. The plant will initially convert more than 30,000 tonnes of potatoes to bondas, vada paus and other Indian treats.
16. WALLACE MCCAIN
$1.87 billion
When Maple Leaf Foods Inc. announced this summer it wanted to build a $250-million pork processing plant in Hamilton, Ont., area residents weren't exactly hog wild. Protests heightened in November after Ontario's environment ministry fined the company $450,000 for the stench coming from its Rothsay, Ont., facility.
17. CHARLES BRONFMAN
$1.84 billion
Charles, the 74-year-old heir to the Seagram's empire, lost his cousin, Edward Bronfman, to colon cancer in May. Known as the "other Bronfman," the 77-year-old Edward quietly amassed a fortune in real estate and other holdings after his side of the family was shunned from the distilling business.
18. JEAN COUTU
$1.75 billion
Quebec's most admired firm had a rough year in the U.S., where 85% of its outlets are now based. Disruptions in supply during the back-to-school season, a shift to health and beauty products, and the closure of 78 Eckerd drugstores led to a 50% decline in profits in October and the downgrading of its debt to a lower junk status. Displeased with the results, the 78-year-old Coutu took over from his son François as CEO in November.
19. CARLO FIDANI
$1.73 billion
When the real estate tycoon's father died of lung cancer in 2000, one of Fidani's first acts as chairman of Orlando Corp. was to make a $6-million donation to Mississauga's Credit Valley Hospital. In June, the $134-million Carlo Fidani Cancer Centre opened its doors to an expected 70,000 annual appointments.
20. ALEX SHNAIDER
$1.72 billion
See story: Alex Shnaider — The Steel Magnate.
21. ALLAN SLAIGHT
$1.64 billion
In April, the sole owner of Standard Broadcasting Corp., Canada's largest private broadcaster, received a Juno award for his five-decade involvement with Canadian music. Honoured for promoting homegrown artists before Canadian content rules were established, Slaight's pioneering role continued this year as Sirius Canada, the satellite radio provider in which he has a 40% stake, gained cabinet approval in September.
22. MURRAY EDWARDS
$1.63 billion
Five months after resigning from the board of Penn West Petroleum Ltd., the vice-chairman of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has no shortage of work. In November, CNR, Canada's second-largest oil producer, announced it is putting $30 billion into new refineries and upgrades over the next 15 years. The investment will see anticipated output from the $10.8-billion Alberta Horizon oilsands project double to 497,000 barrels a day within six years.
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