Nova Scotia Buzz
From starting a seafood company to a cable television company and growing into a grocery giant, these are the richest and some of the most successful business people in Nova Scotia. Combined they’re worth over six billion dollars.
John Risley ~ $1.21 Billion
Halifax & Chester, Nova Scotia
John Risley is co-founder of Clearwater Seafoods and the chairman of president of Thornvale Holdings Limited, the company that oversees his other business interests. Risley never attended university, instead he got involved with real-estate at a young age. During a housing slump in 1976 he would establish Clearwater Seafoods with his brother-in-law, Colin.
According to Canadian Business, John Risley’s net worth is listed at $1.21 billion.
Risley owns a 32,000 sq. foot home near Chester, Nova Scotia and another house in south end Halifax. In recent years, Risley sold his superyacht, Northern Star, which had a value listed at $350 million.
Charitable causes include: The Nature Conservancy Canada.
John Bragg ~ $1.29 Billion
Oxford, Nova Scotia
Canadian Business lists John Bragg’s net worth at $1.29 billion which was built through his company, Oxford Frozen Food Limited. He founded the business in 1968 and today is chairman, president and co-CEO of the empire.
Bragg went from owning a blueberry farm to processing and bringing the popular Cumberland County berries to the world. His processing facility can process up to 700 tons of blueberries each day and is the most modern in the world.
In 1970, Bragg established Bragg Communications which has evolved into what today is Eastlink. His son, Lee Bragg, oversees the private company which offers cellular, internet and cable television services in numerous provinces.
Charitable causes include: The John and Judy Bragg Family Foundation
Kenneth Rowe – $1.48 Billion
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Kenneth (Ken) Rowe is the founder and Chairman of IMP Group. Based in Nova Scotia the aerospace company operates globally. IMP Group has operated an airline and is involved in defense, hotels and information technology.
Canadian Business states Ken Rowe’s wealth as $1.48 billion.
The Rowe School of business at Dalhousie University is named after Ken Rowe for his contributions to the University and business community in Nova Scotia.
Charitable causes include: Pier 21, IWK Hospital Foundation, The Salvation Army
The Sobey Family ~ $2.88 Billion
Stellarton, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia’s Sobey family got into the grocery business in 1907 when the John W. Sobey started a meat delivery service. His son Frank would turn the business into Canada’s second largest grocery retailer, Sobeys.
Since Frank Sobey’s death in 1985, the family’s fortune has been in the hands of his children and grandchildren.
Today, Sobeys is overseen by the Empire Company Limited which also has investments in real estate. Numerous Sobey family members sit on Empire’s board of directors. Most of the family’s fortune is in Empire Company’s stock.
Since the early 2000’s, Saint Mary’s University’s Sobey School of Business in Halifax has received over $20 million from the family.
Charitable causes include: The Sobey Foundation, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Nova Scotia Community College
Featured photo is for illustrative purposes only.
Wealth figures from Canadian Business
