John Bragg

Net Worth:
$1.29 billion
(▲15.2% from 2017)

Rich 100 rank: #87
Change in rank from 2017: ▼1
Major company holdings: Oxford Frozen Foods, Bragg Communications, Bragg Lumber
Location: Collingwood Corner, N.S.
Age: 77

John Bragg is the undisputed blueberry baron of Canada. The Nova Scotia billionaire heads up frozen fruit empire Oxford Frozen Foods Ltd., along with communications company Eastlink. Last year, Bragg opened a new facility in Saint-Isidore, N.B., that is considered to be “the most modern blueberry processing facility in the world,” and can process up to 1.5 million pounds of blueberries per day.

Bragg served on the Nova Scotia government’s commission set up to help bolster the province’s economy. In 2015, on the one-year anniversary of its report, Bragg delivered a harsh message to fans of big government: The province needs to cut its civil service, he said in a keynote address, and use the savings to dig Nova Scotia out of debt.

The Bragg family has called Nova Scotia home for 180 years. John Bragg built his first blueberry-processing factory in 1968, and the business is still experiencing double-digit growth today.

Updated Thursday, November 9, 2017