Gravy train shows no sign of slowing
Robert Friedland, the controversial mining promoter, has parlayed his talent for turning nickel and copper to gold into a spectacular leap in the richest Canadian sweepstakes.
Friedland, executive chairman of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., saw his wealth rise 217 per cent to $1.59 billion in the past year, according to a survey by Canadian Business magazine of the wealthiest Canadians. That pushed him from No. 61 to No. 32 on the list.
Then again, the 58-year-old Chicago-born venture capitalist was in 29th spot just two years ago, one stop on a rollercoaster that started in college and has turned him into a pioneer in natural resource development. He was involved in the Voisey’s Bay nickel discovery in Labrador a decade ago, and is now going ahead with a major copper project in Mongolia.
Many other names on the Canadian Business list are familiar.
The wealthy Thomson family remains in the No. 1 position. The Thomson clan, which controls the Thomson Reuters news and specialized data company, has amassed roughly $21.99 billion, up 19 per cent over last year.
The No. 2 spot is occupied by Irving Oil owners James Arthur and John Irving at $7.28 billion. The Irving group owns refineries, gasoline stations, trucking, shipbuilding, forestry and media businesses in New Brunswick, other Atlantic provinces and New England.
Galen Weston, owner of Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Canada’s largest supermarket chain, is third with $6.47 billion, followed by Vancouver businessman Jimmy Pattison at $5.07 billion.
The Rogers family of Toronto, owners of Rogers Communications, Canada’s largest cable TV and cellphone operator, rounds out the Top 5 at $4.7 billion.
Friedland, who made the biggest jump up the list, is one of the most controversial names. Environmentalists singled him out for criticism in the mid-1990s after his Galactic Resources in Summitville, Colo., turned into the site of the U.S.’s worst cyanide releases, resulting in a $20 million payment to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Friedland, who lives in Singapore, has other mining interests in Africa, Japan and Australia. A dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, he was 212th on the Forbes list of richest Americans this year.
A Vietnam War protester at Bowdoin College in Maine in his youth, he told the Star’s Jennifer Wells for an article in the Canadian Encyclopedia that he "got in trouble for an involvement with LSD," transferred to Reed College in Portland, Ore., and then found his way to Vancouver "like a golden messiah, a New Age promoter the likes of which had not been seen before."
Others on the list include: Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, ranked 35th, with a worth of $1.5 billion.
Frank Stronach, chairman of auto parts giant Magna International Inc., ranked 48th with $1.19 billion;
Research In Motion Ltd. co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie rank No. 9 and No. 16, respectively, with net worths of $2.9 billion and $2.67 billion.
The total net worth of the richest 100 is $172.7 billion, up from $165.1 billion in 2008. Geographically, 39 of the 100 wealthiest live in Ontario, 18 in Quebec, 12 in British Columbia, 11 in Alberta, four in Nova Scotia, two in Manitoba and two in New Brunswick.
With files from Canadian Press
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