Who are the richest Canadians? The 10th annual "Rich 100" for 2008

    From Canadian Business magazine, on newsstands starting December 4

    TORONTO, Dec. 4 /CNW/ - Who's up? Who's down? Who's in? Who's out?
Despite dwindling stock prices and personal and corporate belt-tightening
affecting nearly everyone across country, some lucky Canadians can still count
themselves as the richest in the land.
    Find out who they are, where they live, what they've been up to and how
much their fortunes have changed since last year's list. The rankings, plus
much more on Canada's most affluent citizens, is in Canadian Business
magazine's top-selling issue: the special Rich 100 celebration of affluence
and achievement. Find it on the newsstand beginning today, and at
www.canadianbusiness.com/2008rich100.

    The Top 5 richest Canadians in 2008:-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Rank       Name (location), company       Net worth ($)       Rank '07
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    1          Thomson family (Toronto)       18.45 billion       1
               Thomson Reuters,
               Woodbridge Co. Ltd.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    2          James (J. K.) Arthur and       7.11 billion        5
               John (Jack) Irving
               (Saint John, N.B.),
               Irving Oil Ltd.,
               J. D. Irving Ltd.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    3          Galen Weston (Toronto),        6.58 billion        3
               George Weston Ltd.,
               Loblaw Cos. Ltd.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    4          (*)Edward (Ted) Rogers         5.05 billion        2
               (Toronto), Rogers
               Communications Inc.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    5          James (Jimmy) Pattison         4.93 billion        6
               (Vancouver), Jim Pattison
               Group
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (*) Ted Rogers died on Dec. 2. The cutoff date for valuations was Nov. 3.

    -   Number of billionaires this year: 53 (down from 54 in 2007)
    -   Total net worth of Rich 100 in 2008: $165.1 billion, down from $176.9
        billion in 2007
    -   Percentage change decrease from 2007 Rich 100: -6.7%%

    New members of the Rich 100 (net worth/rank)

    Alan, Barry and Clayton Zekelman ($2.58 billion / 15)
    Eric Sprott ($874 million / 61)
    Larry Rossy ($801 million / 72)
    Amar Doman ($608 million / 81)
    U. Gary Charlwood ($536 million / 89)Departures: Who fell off the list this year? (last year's rank)

    The Asper family (64); Pierre Karl and Erik Péladeau (69); Lawrence Ho
(83); Jack Cockwell (84); Sam and Van Kolias (85); Rob McEwen (88); Alain
Bouchard (95); Robert Beamish (99).
    The absence of the Asper family and the Péladeaus may surprise many. In a
special feature, Canadian Business magazine takes a look at what led to their
dwindling rankings.

    Plus:

    The Irving empire
    Princely mansions
    How the financial meltdown burned the rich

    The Rich 100: A look back over 10 years

    Since its inception, the goal of the Rich 100 was to sketch a map of
Canadian wealth and in so doing gain a deeper understanding of the forces and
personalities that shape the Canadian economy. Although it has done just that
over the last decade, the list has evolved. More than 40% of the original 100
have since fallen off (sorry, Céline) or passed away, leaving their fortunes
to the next generation. Getting on the list is also tougher. Steve Stavro
squeaked into 100th on the first list with an estimated fortune of $235
million; you now need $464 million to qualify. Meanwhile, average net worth of
those listed has increased by 54%, to $1.65 billion, while the number of
billionaires has more than doubled, to 53. Of course, the collapse of capital
markets this fall has sharply reduced many of the fortunes you're about to
read about. But don't expect to hear any of them crying poor.
    For a sneak peek at the Top 10 richest Canadians, see our slideshow at
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/2008rich100

    A note on our methodology: As always, the Canadian Business team poked
through proxy statements, insider-trading reports and a number of other
sources, as well as made countless phone calls to estimate just how much our
Rich 100 members and potential candidates were worth. For more information
please visit www.canadianbusiness.com.

    About Canadian Business:

    Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving, bestselling
and most trusted business publication in Canada. Canadian Business stands
alone as the business magazine in Canada with 100% paid circulation. With a
readership of more than one million, the magazine is published every second
Monday, except in January, July and August, when monthly issues are published.
Special annual issues of Canadian Business include the Investor 500, the MBA
Guide, the Rich 100 and the Best and Worst Boards. Visit
www.canadianbusiness.com./NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available on
    the CNW Photo Network and archived at http://photos.newswire.ca.
    Additional archived images are also available on the CNW Photo Archive
    website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited
    members of the media/