71. Greenberg Family
Net worth: $758 million | Up 10% | Location: Ottawa | 06 rank: 68
Family-owned Minto Developments Inc. has made some environmental strides this year. Minto added to its portfolio of “green” developments with the opening of a new Toronto property that promotes energy savings and sustainability. In Ottawa, work began on Ontario’s first commercial building that will apply for LEED gold certification, implying it meets a national benchmark of sustainability.
72. Rudolph (Rudy) Bratty
Net worth: $750 million | Up 20% | Location: Toronto | 06 rank: 74
The chairman and CEO of Remington Group Inc. has focused on its Downtown Markham project this year, the largest mixed-use development in North America with residential, retail and commercial properties. The group is building the $3-billion community, located north of Toronto, to high environmental standards, including the use of alternative energy and lots of pedestrian-friendly green space.
73. Victor Li
Net worth: $744 million | 2% | Location: Hong Kong | 06 rank: 67
In August, two Chinese brothers reportedly told a Hong Kong court they attempted to plunder the grave of Li’s mother, Chong Yuet-ming, to force Li’s father, billionaire Li Ka-shing, to pay a ransom for her bones. The grave robbers were foiled when the cemetery caretaker and his wife discovered the two, who then attacked them with meat cleavers. Li, the managing director of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., is no newcomer to such plots — in 1996 he was kidnapped and later released when ransom was paid.
74. John Bragg
Net worth: $711 million | Up 45% | Location: Collingwood, N.S. | 06 rank: 91
In April, Bragg offered interest-free forgivable loans to Oxford Frozen Foods full-time employees who purchase a home in the company’s small-town headquarters. Bragg’s other company, Bragg Communications Inc. — better know to customers as EastLink — was focused on moving beyond the Maritimes, however, and purchased southern Ontario-based Amtelecom right under rival Bell’s nose for $104 million.
75. Leon Family
Net worth: $709 million | 22% | Location: Toronto | 06 rank: 80
Leon’s Furniture Ltd. (TSX: LNFW) showed interest in stepping up its appliance offerings in August when it announced a tentative agreement to purchase Appliance Canada Ltd. of Concord, Ont. — a company with annual sales averaging $100 million.
76. Hassan Khosrowshahi
Net worth: $701 million | Up 18% | Location: Vancouver | 06 rank: 78
The chairman of Inwest Investments Ltd. added another scenic B.C. development to his portfolio when subsidiary Wesbild Holdings Ltd. purchased Vernon golf resort community Predator Ridge for an undisclosed price this year. The company said it plans to begin construction on a fourth set of nine holes in 2008.
77. Dave and Cliff Lede
Net worth: $692 million | Up 14% | Location: Calgary | 06 rank: 77
In April, Ledcor Construction Ltd. won the contract to build the Bow, the future Calgary headquarters of EnCana Corp. (TSX: ECA) The skyscraper will span two city blocks and include a 58-storey tower that will make it the tallest building in Calgary. The Bow has a total construction value of about $1 billion.
78. John Risley
Net worth: $676 million | Up 6% | Location: Bedford, N.S. | 06 rank: 71
This year Risley, the key shareholder in Fishery Products International (FPI) (TSX: FPL), engineered a different route for the company than he planned in 2001 when he led its hostile takeover. In October, shareholders approved the sale and breakup of most of FPI to Ocean Choice International Inc. and High Liner Foods Inc. (TSX: HLF), taking the company out of the seafood business. FPI will resurface as a publicly traded investment firm, FP Resources Ltd.
79. Koschitzky Family
Net worth: $676 million | Up 9% | Location: Toronto | 06 rank: 75
For a company with modest roots in Alberta asphalt, the family-owned IKO Group now exports its roofing and waterproofing products to more than 50 countries around the world. In June, a massive tire cord factory opened outside of Beijing with 70,000 square metres of roofing bought from IKO subsidiary Atab.
80. Peter NygÅrd
Net worth: $662 million | Up 5% | Location: Bahamas | 06 rank: 72
The Finnish-born fashion designer has focused on expanding his chain both in Canada and abroad this year. He opened a new world headquarters in New York’s Times Square and continued with plans to open 10,000-square-foot big-box-style Fashion Park stores.
