Paul Desmarais Sr.
Paul Desmarais Sr.
| Rank: | 4 |
| Networth: | $5.64 billion |
| Location: | Montreal |
| 2006 Rank: | 5 |
The Power Corp. patriarch and his family were put at the centre of the world’s third-largest power utility in September with the merger of Suez SA and Gaz de France SA. The power play was helped along by loud support from Albert Frère, the family’s European partner and vice-chairman of Suez, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The new company, GDF Suez, counts Groupe Bruxelles Lambert—an investment company controlled by the Desmarais and Frère families—among its top shareholders.