Peter Gilgan

Net Worth:
$3 billion
(▲10.7% from 2017)

Rich 100 rank: #32
Change in rank from 2017: ▲1
Major company holdings: Mattamy Homes
Location: Oakville, Ont.
Age: 66

Peter Gilgan’s business, Mattamy Homes, has been doing a lot of building lately—and not just in the literal sense (though there certainly has been plenty of that). Last June, the company announced three significant acquisitions in the Orlando, Fla., area—two raw land tracts and a “short-term rental community” project—that will increase its presence in the city by 1,650 lots. This September, they announced the purchase of another swath of land—a 350-acre, 1,300 residential unit development—in a suburban community in Osceola County.

That Mattamy is so focused on suburb-friendly Florida should come as no surprise: Gilgan built his fortune by building out. Since its launch nearly 40 years ago, Mattamy Homes has constructed 70,000 suburban homes across Ontario, Alberta and the United States. Now Mattamy appears to be positioning itself for a slightly more urban identity. In 2015, it bought Monarch Corp., the Canadian arm of U.S.-based Taylor Morrison Home Corp., which will allow it to scale up its mid- and high-rise construction capabilities. To coincide with this urban push, Gilgan moved Mattamy’s legal, IT, HR and marketing departments to a new 55th-floor office in one of the TD Centre towers in the heart of Toronto’s financial district.

Gilgan seems intent on building his legacy, too. The 17-storey Peter Gilgan Patient Care Tower at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital—a project to which he donated $30 million—is currently wrapping up construction and set to open imminently.

Updated Thursday, November 9, 2017