Daryl Katz

The son of a pharmacist, starting in the 1990s Katz started buying up distressed pharmacies with help of drug distributor McKesson. Cobbled together 1,925 pharmacies to create one of the biggest chains in North America. Sold remaining 25 Snyders Drug Stores in Minnesota to Walgreens after unsuccessful attempt to expand in U.S. Bought Edmonton Oilers for $200 million in 2008. Investing a reported $200 million to build new downtown hockey arena. Edmonton native Katz made his fortune in the pharmacy business, buying the struggling Rexall chain in the 1990s and building it into the prominent retailer it is today. Forbes magazine estimates his fortune at US$2.9 billion (C$3.7 billion), making Katz the 13th-richest person in Canada. In recent years, Katz has focused his efforts on the Oilers, which he bought in 2008, and on the redevelopment of downtown Edmonton. With the city of Edmonton, he developed the Rogers Arena, and is leading the redevelopment of a 25-acre area around the stadium, a $2.5-billion project dubbed the Ice District.