With an uncertain world economy, Canadians can rest assured our country’s billionaires are doing alright.
Of the 100 richest individuals and families in the country, 86 grew their net worth over the past year according to Canadian Business magazine, which unveiled its annual list of Canada’s 100 wealthiest people Thursday. Collectively, the group represents 0.00028 per cent of the population and controls a net worth upward of $200 billion.
But it appears the list bucks the trend when it comes to the sources of its members wealth.
“The thing about Canada’s economy in general is that it’s geared toward natural resources,” Graham Scott, Canadian Business Magazine’s managing editor told Canada AM. “This list is more focused towards consumer goods, like groceries and luxury clothes.”
He noted Lululemon Athletica founder Chip Wilson managed to break into the Top 10 this year with a net worth of $3.51 billion.
“The Rogers family have done quite well this year,” Scott said. “They’ve put a lot of money recently into expanding the Blue Jays line up which they’re hoping will drive ticket sales this coming year.”
While they dropped 5.7 per cent from last year, Toronto’s Thomson family continues to hold top spot with a net worth of $20.1 billion. That’s more than double runner-up Galen Weston, of Loblaws Cos. Ltd. and Holt Renfrew, who’s up three per cent this year to $8.2 billion.
Canada’s billionaire club also added seven new members, including Lawrence Stroll, who rode an IPO for his luxury fashion label Michael Kors to debut on the list with a net worth of $1.9 billion.
Stroll saw the biggest upward movement on the ranking, having grown his net worth 235 per cent over last year. Robert Friedland, of Ivanhoe Mines, saw the biggest drop, falling to No. 62 on the list from his No. 17 spot last year with a 61 per cent slide to a net worth of just $1.08 billion.
Others on the list include Montreal’s Saputo family, Jeff Skoll of eBay Inc., the McCain family and SmartCentre’s CEO Mitchell Goldhar.
