The Most Notable Canadian Millionaires (Billionaires) by Province

It's incredible to see the huge gap in wealth distribution from David Thomson being worth a staggering $67.7 billion, and Changpeng Zhao in second with $24 billion. There are some unbelievable differences in that top ten list. But with the market changing every day, and net worth's fluctuating up and down with it, we take their wealth with a grain of salt. Or in their case, a salt factory.

If you purchased a home in Vancouver or Toronto 15-20 years ago and have,or are close to paying of it off, you are most likely sitting on a million-dollar property. But that doesn't necessarily make you a millionaire. Wealth, or net worth, is simply your financial assets plus your real assets (housing or properties) minus your debts. However this isn't the only definition of a millionaire.

Another way to define a millionaire is someone who has one million dollars on hand to invest into the market or some other venture right now, today. If you have that million dollar home, but only a few hundred thousand dollars in your bank account, you're not a millionaire. The definitions vary. One thing is for sure, if you have either of those things and your debt is manageable, you're on the right track, especially these days.

At the time of his death in 2018, Clayton Riddell had an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. He made his money in the petroleum industry, as the founder of Petroleum Resources Ltd.

The current CEO, president, and chairman of the company is Jim Riddell, Clayton Riddell's son, while his daughter Susan Riddell Rose also serves as a Paramount director and is the CEO of Perpetual Energy Inc. So, there's certainly more than one millionaire in the family.

Worth around $3.5 billion U.S. as of 2020, Daryl Katz is the founder and chairman of the Katz Group of Companies. He's also one of the richest Canadians alive today.

The Group initially made money in the pharmacy industry, owning the chain Rexall, but sold off the company in 2016. Among the group's notable current holdings are the NHL team the Edmonton Oilers, Dark Castle Entertainment, and the ICE District.

Eskandar, Nader, Raphael and Bahman Ghermezian run Triple Five Group, known for developing and owning some of the world's largest malls and other developments.

The group owns notable North American super-malls such as Mall of America and the West Edmonton Mall, and has several others in development. The family's combined net worth is estimated to be around $650 million, down from $2 billion a few years ago.

David Thomson, the 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet, inherited both his title and the Thomson corporation from his father, Kenneth Thomson. Since he inherited the company, it merged with Reuters to become one of the biggest multimedia countries in the world. Thomson currently has an estimated net worth of $7.85 billion, as does his sister Taylor and brother Peter. 

One of the richest person in Canada, Joseph Tsai, has an estimated net worth of $8.1 billion. Taiwan-born and Yale-educated Tsai co-founded the Alibaba Group, known for e-commerce, technology, and so much more. Tsai currently serves as executive vice-chairman of the company, and also owns NBA team the Brooklyn Nets, and owns or has invested in several other sports teams.

But, Tsai isn't just known for his ability to make money — in 2020, Tsai and his wife Clara Wu Tsai donated $50 million to support BIPOC advancement and social justice. 

Do you love to shop online? Then, you've probably heard of Shopify. But, did you know that Shopify founder and CEO Tobi Lutke is Canadian? German-born Lutke launched Spotify with cofounders Scott Lake and Daniel Weinand in 2006, and never looked back.

Lutke is currently estimated to be worth around $9.52 billion. His success had made Lutke one of the richest people in Canada.

Unfortunately, W. Galen Weston passed away in 2021 at the age of 80, but he amassed quite an empire for himself and his family beforehand. Weston originally began creating his fortune in the U.K., by purchasing various failing chains.

Eventually, that lead him to purchase Ontario grocery store chain Loblaws. The rest, as they say, is history. Weston's son Galen G. Weston took over as chairman of George Weston Ltd. in 2016.

Distributed Systems Group founder David Cheriton is one of the biggest tech investors in the game right now. As of today, Cheriton's net worth was an estimated $9.1 billion. Aside from his investments in technology, he is also a computer scientist, mathematician, philanthropist and venture capitalist.

Clothing magnate and founder of Nygard International Peter Nygard used to be one of the richest men in Canada, but that might not be the case anymore. Nygard has faced many different legal issues over the years, and he's now facing real repercussions.

He resigned as Chairman of the company in 2020, after becoming the subject of a class-action suit for rape. He currently awaits extradition to the United States on sex trafficking charges.

Manitoba's Randy Moffat originally got his start with his family's radio empire, but eventually expanded into television and cable channels. Moffat is currently worth an estimated $661 million.

James Armstrong Richardson founded James Richardson & Sons Ltd., which is still the source of his family's wealth to this day.

The company is involved in the grain, oil, and real estate industries, giving the Richardson family an estimated net worth of over $6 billion and making them one of Canada's wealthiest families. Unfortunately, James Armstrong Richardson (who was also very involved in federal politics) passed away in 2004.

Sons of the industrialist K.C. Irving, James, and Arthur Irving (along with their brother, John E. Irving) have certainly made their mark on the world. James Irving currently owns the industrial conglomerate J. D. Irving, Limited, while Arthur Irving runs Irving Oil. Arthur Irving's current estimated net worth is $9.09 billion, while James's is $6.51 billion.

McCain Foods co-founder Harrison McCain passed away in 2004, but members of the McCain family are still a part of the fast-food giant's operating company board. As of 2018, the net worth of McCain's estate was $3.79 billion.

The Sobey family dynasty dates all the way back to 1907 and John W. Sobey when he first founded Sobeys as a meat delivery business. Empire State Ltd., controlled by the Sobey family, had an estimated revenue of over $26 billion in 2019.

Co-founder of Clearwater Seafoods, John Risely currently has an estimated net worth of $1.21 billion. His seafood-based fortune extends beyond Clearwater Seafood, too, since Risley is also a major shareholder in Ocean Nutrition Canada.

Bernard Sherman made his money in the pharmaceutical industry, eventually founding the company Apotex. Tragically, Bernard and Honey Sherman were murdered in their Toronto home in 2017.  Their murder has not yet been solved. Presumably, their assets are passed to their children upon their death. Sherman's estimated net worth at the time was $3.2 billion.

Who would have thought that a man who worked for $.0.75/day would build a $1.1 billion empire in office furniture? That's what Saul Feldberg did when he founded the company Global Group in 1966. The company has since been passed on to his son, Joel which was the first shift in power in almost 50 years.

Alimentation Couche-Tard co-founder and chairman Alain Bouchard was worth an estimated $5.3 billion this 2022. Alimentation Couche-Tard operates convenience stores such as Circle K and many others.