Ontario woman worth $13.6B named one of the world's richest people
This year’s Bloomberg Billionaires Index has been revealed, and the richest Canadian on the list is no longer a crypto CEO.
The title for richest Canuck goes to Sherry Brydson this year, claiming the 120th spot on the list with a total net worth of $13.6 billion.
You might not have heard of her since she keeps an incredibly low profile, but her family’s name is well-known in the media industry.
Sherry Brydson of Woodbridge Company Limited is worth approx. $17.5 BILLION - She WAS worth $6.5 BILLION in 2013 - so in less than 10 years her money has tripled - I don't think that is from "earned wages" - MONEY MAKES MONEY so #UBI is the ONLY WAY FORWARD for Canada!!! 🇨🇦📢 pic.twitter.com/KFOBcYZrAy
— Jeff Leggat (@AShoutAbout) January 15, 2022
According to Bloomberg, Brydson is the largest shareholder of Woodbridge, an investment firm that controls Thomson Reuters, the company that owns Reuters, one of the world’s largest international news agencies.
She is the granddaughter of media tycoon Roy Thomson and became an heiress to the family fortune when he died.
She is known for her roots in activism, so much so that Bloomberg’s fun fact about her is that she chained herself in the House of Commons to protest Canada’s strict abortion laws in the 70s.
Since then, she opened a Thai restaurant and spa called the Elmwood and has dabbled in real estate, oil and gas, and aviation.
Woodbridge is based in Ontario and owns two-thirds of the financial data and services provided by Thomson Reuters, which had revenue of $6.3 billion in 2021.
Brydson owns about 23% of Woodbridge’s assets, and her relatives own the rest, according to Bloomberg.
To put this into perspective, Bloomberg says her total net worth can buy 7.38 million troy ounces of gold and is 192, 234 times the median US household income.
Making the billionaire index is a family affair.
David Thomson, Taylor Thomson and Peter Thomson all made the list, claiming spots 234, 235 and 236, respectively.
Last year, Changpeng Zhao, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, cracked the top 20, ranking as the 11th richest person on Earth.
This year he dropped all the way down to 144th place, below Brydson, with a net worth of $12.3 billion.
The Biggest Billionaire Losers of 2022
— World Index (@theworldindex) January 2, 2023
🇺🇸 Elon Musk: -$133b
🇺🇸 Jeff Bezos: -$85.4b
🇨🇦 Changpeng Zhao: -$83.3b
🇺🇸 Mark Zuckerberg: -$79.9b
🇺🇸 Larry Page: -$45.5b
🇺🇸 Sergey Brin: -$44.2b
🇺🇸 MacKenzie Scott: -$37.4b
🇺🇸 Bill Gates: -$28.9b
(Bloomberg Billionaires Index)
Who made the top three spots?
Elon Musk lost first place to Bernard Arnault, the chairman of luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton.
Gautam Adani, founder of Adani Group, the largest port operator in India, is the third richest person in the world.
