Richardson family tops list of wealthiest Manitobans

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This article was published 04/12/2007 (6849 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IF there was ever any question about the identity of Winnipeg’s wealthiest family, the Richardsons have erased all doubt in the latest edition of Canadian Business Magazine’s Rich 100.

The family that just celebrated 150 years in business earned the highest ranking of all Manitobans from the Toronto-based publication. The Richardsons are in 22nd position, down from 20th a year ago, with a net worth of $2 billion, up $200 million over the past 12 months.

The Asper family are the next Manitobans on the list, in 64th position with $833 million, a 24 per cent decline from a year ago, when the family was 41st with $1.1 billion.

That’s in sharp contrast to the positions of the two families in 2003, when the Richardsons posted a net worth of $1.15 billion, just a handful of loonies ahead of the Aspers’ $1.13 billion.

Peter Nygård — the Finnish-born fashion mogul and former Winnipegger now lives in the Bahamas — ranked 80th in this year’s list at $662 million, up five per cent, but down eight spots from a year ago.

Randy Moffat, former CEO and majority shareholder of Moffat Communications, rounds out the Manitobans on the list in 82nd place, with net worth of $661 million, a jump of 34 per cent and seven spots from 2006.

While the Richardsons are definitely the top dogs in Manitoba, they are relative paupers compared to some of the Rich 100 families. The Thomsons, the former owners of the Winnipeg Free Press who maintained their No. 1 ranking once again on the strength of media and data services holdings, rang in with a net worth of $25.4 billion. The Bombardiers, who made their fortune in aerospace, were the next wealthiest family with $2.29 billion in net worth (17th place) and the Harrison McCain family, which hitched its cart to French fries, was 21st with a net worth of $2.13 billion.

Alex Mlynek, Upfront editor at Canadian Business, said the Richardsons were able to add $200 million in net worth, even though they lost last summer’s bidding war for Agricore United to the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.

“They continue to move forward and they continue to make money,” she said Monday. “They’re successful business people and they’re very smart. There is a general upswing in terms of wealth in Canada for the higher end and they’re part of that group.”

She said the fortunes of the Aspers could easily vault upwards if the market rewards them for solid financial performance of their television and newspaper properties. “They’re still doing well, $833 million is nothing to sneeze at. The market just hasn’t responded as well to their moves as it did a year ago,” she said.

Jim Carr, president and CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba, a group of CEOs representing some of the province’s largest companies, said he’d love to see more local entrepreneurs crack the Rich 100.

“If you look at what impact those families have had on Manitoba, you see that more wealth creation means more wealth distribution, which means healthier cultural institutions, better community services and a healthier society all around,” he said Monday.

Mlynek said there were 56 billionaires on this year’s list — up from 46 a year ago — the first year more than half of the Rich 100 members had a 10-figure net worth.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca