The 10 Richest Men in Canada - Canadian Billionaires

Located on the northern part of North American continent, Canada is one of the most developed countries in the world.  Apart from being major driving factors of the economy, Canada’s abundant natural resources, vibrant media and long history of international trade have also contributed to the making of most of its billionaires. Here is a list of ten of the richest men in Canada in the descending order of their fortunes.

1. David Thomson and family
   
   Canada’s richest man is media giant David Thomson with a net worth of $ 23 billion USD. As head of the nation’s most enduring media dynasty, he not only leads Thomson Reuters, one of the world’s largest electronic information service providers of the world but also has controlling stakes in The Globe and the Mail and plays influential role in the evolution of the global printing news industry. Bearing the title of the Third Baron Thomson of Fleet, this 54 year-old media magnate lives in Toronto. He has been married twice, the second marriage ending in a bitter divorce, and is the father of three children.
   
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2. Galen Weston and family
   
   With a personal fortune of $7.1 billion USD the second richest person in Canada is Galen Weston. Weston made his money from an extensive retail empire and is currently the Chairman and President of George Weston Limited. In addition to being one of the country’s leading bakers through wholly owned subsidiary Weston Foods, Galen Weston maintains controlling interest in Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada’s largest food retailer, through a family holding company. Finally as the as Chairman of Holt Renfrew in Canada, Selfridges in the United Kingdom, Brown Thomas of Ireland and the De Bijenkorf department store chain in the Netherlands, Weston is also head of the world’s second largest luxury goods retailer. Weston is also actively interested in philanthropy and is Chairman of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, a family-based private charitable trust which has made close to $200 million in donations over the past decade.
   
   

   

   
    
3. Jim Pattison
   
   The third richest Canadian is Jim Pattison with a net worth of $5.8 billion USD. This self-made man has diverse interests ranging from car dealerships to ownership of Overwaitea Foods and Save-On-Foods, Ripley's Believe It or Not! as well as radio and TV stations in British Columbia and Alberta. He heads the Jim Pattison Group which is the third largest privately held group in the country. Even at 83 years of age, Pattison has revealed no plans of handing the reins of business over to his children, leaving many wondering about the succession plans of his billion dollar private conglomeration.
    
4. Paul Desmarais
   
   With a personal net worth of $4.5 billion USD, finance baron Paul Desmarais is the currently the fourth richest individual in Canada. He is CEO of the Power Corporation of Canada (PCC), a Canadian company active in the fields of mass media, pulp and paper and financial services. Apart from his financial clout, he is well known in the corridors of Canadian political power. A few years ago, Desmarais was presented with France's highest distinction, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, by his good friend, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
   
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5. The Irving family
   
   The Irving family is the inheritor to one of the leading Canadian businessmen of the twentieth century, K. C Irving who expanded its initial sawmill business into a diversified empire interests in forestry, pulp and paper, tissue, newsprint, building supplies, frozen food, transportation, shipping lines, and ship building. The three sons of K.C. Irving to whom the family businesses were passed down are James, Arthur and John Irving. Currently the fortunes of James and Arthur Irving  are pegged at $ 3. 5 billion USD.
    
6. Emanuele Saputo
   
   Popularly nicknamed “Lino” Emanuele Saputo is the 6th richest man in Canada and the 323rd richest man in the world, with an estimated net worth of $3.4 billion as of March 2011. Born to an Italian cheesemaking family, Lino immigrated to Canada with his parents and in adulthood became the founder and chairman of the cheese manufacturing company Saputo, Inc. Apart from his family business, Lino also owns an important stake in the trucking company; TransForce, and has extensive investments in real estate, forest products, hotels and golf courses.
    
7. Jeffrey Skoll
   
   Owner of popular online auction store eBay, Jeffrey Skoll’s personal fortunes are pegged at $3.2 billion USD. The 42 year old Canadian-born engineer and internet entrepreneur now lives in Palo Alto, California. Skoll is deeply associated with humanitarian and environmental causes and was one of the first global billionaires to follow the lead of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates and pledge his fortunes to charity.
    
8. David Azrieli and family
   
   Next on the list of Canada’s richest is David Joshua Azrieli, a  real estate tycoon, developer, designer and architect whose personal fortunes are pegged at  $ 3.1 billion USD. Born in Poland, this Jewish entrepreneur immigrated to Canada in the aftermath of conflict in his home country including the Arab-Israel War of 1948. In Canada, Azrieli started off with construction of small duplexes and eventually worked his way up to apartment buildings and, later on, shopping malls. Presently Azrieli's building projects can be seen in the office buildings, high-rise residences, office towers and shopping centers across Canada, the United States and even in Israel.
    
9. Bernard Sherman
   
   Popularly known as ‘Barry’ Sherman, this self-made Canadian billionaire is believed to be worth $US 2.9 billion. The source of his wealth is his vast pharmaceutical business which he started with his development of Apotex Inc. and eventually turned it into one of Canada's leading generic pharmaceutical companies.
    
10. Robert Miller
    
    Another self-made billionaire, Robert Miller figures in the list of top ten richest Canadians on the strength of his electronics retail empire. Miller founded Future Electronics in 1968 and built it into the world's third-largest electronics distributor. With an estimated net worth of $US 2.5 billion, as of March 2011, Miller was ranked by Forbes as the 10th wealthiest Canadian and 459th in the world.