A lot of hard work goes into producing the Rich 100. Our researchers ? this year it was Alex Mlynek, Calvin Leung, Michelle Magnan and Claire Gagné — spent countless hours poring over proxies, insider trading reports, news clippings and any other available documents trying to figure out how Canada's wealthiest stack up. We start off with a list of about 150 names of people we think might make the cut. Usually that means they are worth at least $200 million, though the minimum value for getting on the Rich 100 has been creeping up. From there, candidates are valued using the following criteria:
- Members of the Rich 100 must be citizens of Canada.
- Publicly traded securities are valued at the market close on Oct. 21, 2005.
- Privately owned companies are valued using a multiple of cash flows, earnings or sales. If these figures aren't available, we look to industry experts for their estimates, or we compare private companies to similar public companies. Debt, whether known or estimated, is subtracted from the value.
- Real estate values are based on estimates per square foot, less debt.
- Where companies or shares have been sold, we apply appropriate capital gains taxes.
- Where assets are held by families or trusts, we focus on who controls the wealth.
- We intentionally use conservative estimates of private investments. It's virtually impossible to determine the full extent of these holdings for every member. It's safe to assume the Rich 100 are worth more than the stated amount.
- Sometimes we rely on estimates provided by the Rich 100 candidates themselves, although we attempt to independently verify their information.
- Occasionally, new information comes to light that can affect our estimate of an individual's wealth.
