Canada is known for its diverse landscapes and maple syrup. But it turns out that the country is also home to some of the richest people in the world. There are tons of billionaires in Canada, and they all come from a wide variety of backgrounds and industries. On this list, you will see the richest families in Canada. Many of these people came to Canada very poor and managed to earn much more money than they expected! They own companies that range from the technology industry to the retail industry to the food production industry. They are the ones who make Canada so profitable, and these companies are the foundation of our country.
20. The Thomson family
Net worth: C$41.14 billion
Family business: Thomson Reuters
Industry: Technology/media
Eminent member: Baron David Thomson
The Thomson family has the distinction of being not only the richest family in Canada but also one of the richest families in the world. The family made money from its communications/media conglomerate Thomson Reuters, which is owned by the parent company, Woodbridge.
David Thomson is the most important member of the family, and he is also the most outspoken. He is a well-known art collector. In particular, it has the world’s largest collection of works by the artist John Constable.
19. The Rogers family
Net worth: C$11.57 billion
Family business: Rogers Communications
Industry: Communication
Eminent Member: Edward Rogers III
The Rogers family is also one of the richest families in the world and owes its success to its multimedia business Rogers Communications. The company’s head office is located in Ontario. It was founded in 1960 by Edward Rogers, Jr.
Edward Rogers, Jr. decided to continue the commercial legacy of his father who died when he was only five years old. Rogers wanted to sue his father’s company, Rogers Vacuum Tube Company, but instead turned to communications, obtaining financing in 1959 to start Rogers Cablesystems.
The company is gone. To date, it has assets of nearly C$30 billion and annual revenues of more than C$14 billion. It has cable, telecommunications, wireless, banking and online chat subsidiaries.
18. The Twain family
Net worth: C$400 million
Family business: Singing
Industry: Music
Eminent Member: Shania Twain
Shania Twain is a singer born in Ontario. She plays the guitar in addition to singing. She is also a songwriter and composer. She has been working in the music industry since 1983 and has signed for the Mercury Nashville label. She started singing when she was young. She released her debut album, which was eponymous but was not commercially successful.
She collaborates with Mutt Lange, a producer with whom she will marry from 1993 to 2010, and he helps her propel her second album towards success. The second album sold more than twenty million copies worldwide.
She won a Grammy for her hit “Any Man of Mine”. Her third album was the best-selling album of all time by a woman of all genres. It was also the best country album, and it sold 40 million copies worldwide.
17. The Saputo family
Net worth: C$10.41 billion
Family business: Saputo, Inc.
Industry: Food
Eminent member: Lino A. Saputo
The Saputo family has its roots in Montelepre, Sicily. Lino Saputo is the patriarch and immigrated to Quebec and became a Canadian citizen. He still resides in Canada. He was a cheese maker in Italy, and he and his wife Maria wanted to continue this kind of business, even after they moved.
Saputo launched Saputo, Inc. with only a few plants and very little money for its food business, and it grew it slowly. It is a dairy company that stands out by ranking among the top three cheese companies in the world. It has factories all over the world.
It employs nearly 13,000 people and has annual sales of more than 11 billion Canadian dollars and continues to grow. It has been in existence since 1954.
16. The Desmarais family
Net worth: C$8.38 billion
Family business: Power Corp. of Canada
Industry: Busing
Eminent member: Paul Desmarais
The Desmarais family is based in Canada, and the French-Canadian family has a long history of business achievements and philanthropy. Paul Desmarais, now deceased, is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and briefly attended law school before working for the railway company his grandfather founded.
This company tragically went bankrupt, but Paul managed to repair his infrastructure and save it. It was sold for C$1 at the time, but Paul did not abandon the company. He kept working on it. Three years later, he had saved it and acquired several bus lines across Canada.
From there, he took control of Consolidated Bathurst, which was a paper company. He then acquired Power Corp. of Canada, which he transformed into a financial company.
15. The Irving family
Net worth: C$7.38 billion
Family business: Irving Oil
Industry: Oil and gas
Eminent member: Arthur Irving
The Irving family is the dynasty behind the huge oil and gas company Irving Oil, which K.C. Irving, the family’s patriarch, founded in 1924. The company is a production and export company and is part of the Irving Group parent company. Arthur Irving, K.C.’s son, now owns the company, which remains private.
Irving Oil is Canada’s largest refinery, Irving Oil Refinery. The company also has Irish connections, operating in Whitegate, Ireland, in County Cork. It is the only refinery in Ireland. The company also owns petrol stations, real estate, tanker fleets and other similar assets worldwide.
14. The Richardson family
Net worth: C$6.55 billion
Family business: James Richardson & Fils
Industry: Oil and gas
Eminent Member: Hartley Richardson
James Richardson & Sons is owned by Richardson International, and the parent company has been owned by the family for seven generations. Its current president is the seventh generation. It is a producer and processor of grains, oats, canola and oilseeds that essentially dominates the Canadian market.
It currently employs approximately 2,500 people in Canada and the United States. Its turnover is nearly C$29 billion and its assets are in the same range. Its headquarters are in Winnipeg. It was founded more than a century ago, in 1857.
13. The Azrieli family
Net worth: C$5.83 billion
Family business: Azrieli Group
Industry: Real estate
Eminent Member: Naomi Azrieli
The Azrieli Group is a major real estate conglomerate and a Canadian-Israeli company. It was founded decades ago when it opened its first shopping centre. It was created by David Azrieli, who lived in Quebec until his death.
David Azrieli has a unique story. He was born in Poland to a Jewish family, but the family fled during the Second World War to escape the Nazis in Europe. Azrieli was a soldier in Israel’s war of independence, and after his service, he moved to Montreal.
It was in Montreal that Azrieli began to enter the real estate market, dividing its assets between apartment buildings, shopping malls and office buildings. It has expanded to Tel Aviv, which has become its main place of business. Azrieli owns shopping centres in Israel.
12. The Gaglardi family
Net worth: C$3.92 billion
Family business: Northland properties
Industry: Real estate
Eminent Member: Tom Gaglardi
The Gaglardi family is well known for its keen sense of real estate. Tom Gaglardi is also known to own an NHL team in the United States. However, the activity of Northland Properties is Gaglardi’s main source of wealth. It is based in Vancouver and employs more than ten thousand people. Northland Properties also has hotel and restaurant lines.
11. The Apostolopoulos family
Net worth: C$3.9 billion
Family business: Triple group
Industry: Real estate
Eminent member: Andreas Apostolopoulos
The Apostolopoulos family is a Greek-Canadian family living in Toronto. The family originated from Kalamata, Greece, in 1952. It owns the Triple Group of Companies, and its owner Andreas Apostolopoulos started as a janitor in Canada. He was also a day labourer when he was not doing janitorial work.
He climbed the ladder saving money, and he was able to own a small service company that he developed slowly. He accumulated enough capital to buy a manufacturing company, then turned to real estate development and investment.
10. The Dobrev family
Net worth: C$10 million
Family business: Cinema
Industry: Entertainment
Eminent Member: Nina Dobrev
Nina Dobrev, whose real name is Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva, was born in 1999 in Sofia, Bulgaria. She currently resides in California. She is a Canadian citizen, her parents having moved to the countryside when she was young. She is an actress famous for her role in The Vampire Diaries. She appeared in the series as Elena, as well as Katherine and two other characters.
It also has film credits. She has appeared in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Let’s Be Cops, The Final Girls and XXX: Return of Xander Cage.
9. The Smulders family
Net worth: C$18 million
Family business: Cinema
Industry: Entertainment
Eminent Member: Cobie Smulders
Cobie Smulders is an actress born in Vancouver, although she currently resides in New York, USA. She has a lot of television and film credits in her name. She has appeared in How I Met Your Mother, The Avengers, Spiderman, Captain America and more.
8. The Aykroyd family
Net worth: C$135 million
Family business: Acting
Industry: Entertainment
Eminent member: Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd is one of the most praised names in Hollywood. Born in Ontario, he married Donna Dixon, an actress and model he met on a film shoot in the 1980s. He was an original member of the Saturday Night Live of the “Not Ready for Prime Time” set, and he was also a member of The Blues Brothers.
The Blues Brothers was a sketch with John Belushi, an actor. It then became a real band, then a film in 1980.
7. The Anderson family
Net worth: C$12 million
Family business: Cinema
Industry: Entertainment
Eminent member: Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson is an actress, former model and activist. Born in British Columbia, she currently resides in France, in Cassis. She has appeared in several films, including Barb Wire, Blonde and Blonder and Raw Justice. However, it was her role in the television show Baywatch that strengthened her status as one of Canada’s most inflammatory actresses.
She is also a strong animal and vegan rights activist. She is very involved in PETA and has modelled multiple anti-fur campaigns for them. It has conducted its campaigns to condemn the fur industry.
6. The Cameron family
Net worth: C$700 million
Family business: Lightstorm Entertainment
Industry: Entertainment
Eminent member: James Cameron
This family owes its immense fortune to none other than Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron. Cameron is, of course, the artist behind some of the greatest hit films of the modern era, as well as the technology that created them.
Cameron started as a writer but became famous for directing The Terminator in the mid-1980s. His next film, Aliens, was adopted by the box office and paved the way for such successes as Terminator 2, True Lies and The Abyss.
But his biggest successes will be the Oscar-winning love story Titanic, as well as Avatar, a pioneer in 3D technology for the big screen. Avatar remains one of the most profitable films of all time.
5. The Carrey family
Net worth: C$150 million
Family business: N/A N/A N/A
Industry: Entertainment
Eminent member: Jim Carrey
One of the greatest actors of the modern era is actor Jim Carrey, winner of the Golden Globe. Carrey began her career in mainstream entertainment on the cult show In Living Color. This quickly led to an incredible career in film.
In just one year, Carrey has starred in no less than three successful films: Ace Ventura, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber.
4. The Virtue family
Net worth: C$2 million
Family business: Athlete
Industry: Ice skating
Eminent Member: Tessa Virtue
Tessa Virtue, a world-renowned figure skater, is one of Canada’s top athletes. She has been crowned world skating champion no less than three times in her career, won gold in two Olympic Games and silver in her third Olympic Games appearance.
Virtue skates alongside her long-time partner Scott Moir. They have skated together longer than any other competitive ice skating team in the country. Like Virtue’s success, their cooperative efforts have enabled them to achieve consistent Olympic glory.
3. The Henderson family
Net worth: C$4 million
Family business: Athlete
Industry: Golf
Eminent member: Brooke Henderson
One of the best golfers – and one of the best athletes in the world – is Canadian golf legend Brooke Henderson. Although she is still in her twenties, Henderson’s career is already well underway.
Born into a wealthy family of golfers, Henderson won her first major trophy in 2013. This has led to several consecutive wins in several international tournaments.
In just a few years, Henderson has been considered one of the top-ranked golfers in the game, although she is still an amateur golfer. She went pro instead of going to university, but so far the effort has paid off. Its many endorsement contracts alone have made this risk a very smart bet.
2. The Skoll family
Net worth: C$4 billion
Family business: Participating media
Industry: Entertainment
Eminent member: Jeff Skoll
Billionaire Jeff Skoll (and his whole family) made his fortune in the early days of the Internet. He was the very first employee – and president, so to speak – of the e-commerce giant eBay.
After eBay took off and became one of the world’s leading Internet companies, Skoll accumulated a large number of eBay shares. Finally, he consolidated everything together, sold a large part of it and found himself a billionaire.
Skoll then turned to entertainment by founding the film production company Participant Media. The company has directed several acclaimed and award-winning films, including Steven Spielberg’s Spotlight, Contagion and Lincoln.
1. The Kruger family
Net worth: C$1.91 billion
Family business: Kruger, KP Fabric
Industry: Household goods
Eminent member: Joseph Kruger II
Kruger, Inc. was founded in 1904. Its founder was Joseph Kruger and its head office is located in Montreal. The company manufactures paper products, but it has a wide reach in many different industries. It employs more than ten thousand people and has several subsidiaries. In addition to paper, it produces wines and spirits, cashmere, Purex brand supplies and more.
It allocates its assets between consumer and industrial products. The company started as a fine paper company. It was then extended to other paper products, including newsprint, tissue and cardboard.
The company has striven to become more environmentally friendly and its current management has invested money in renewable energy and recycling. It has also invested in modernizing its technology to make it more environmentally friendly and efficient.
