Top 10 richest Canadians

#7 Paul Desmarais Sr., 85. Worth: $4.4B, 3.2% 2011 rank: 7 Montreal, Power Corp. of Canada To say that Desmarais is well-connected is an understatement. Three prime ministers—Brian Mulroney, Jean Chrétien, and Paul Martin—have at some point worked at Power Corp., the financial and media powerhouse chaired by Desmarais. His connections extend beyond Canada, too. This summer, Desmarais hosted former French president Nicolas Sarkozy at one of his ... more 

#7 Paul Desmarais Sr., 85. Worth: $4.4B, 3.2% 2011 rank: 7 Montreal, Power Corp. of Canada To say that Desmarais is well-connected is an understatement. Three prime ministers—Brian Mulroney, Jean Chrétien, and Paul Martin—have at some point worked at Power Corp., the financial and media powerhouse chaired by Desmarais. His connections extend beyond Canada, too. This summer, Desmarais hosted former French president Nicolas Sarkozy at one of his homes in Quebec. His powerful friends made Desmarais a target of the hacker collective Anonymous this year, which released a two-hour-long video of a lavish birthday party and gala thrown for his wife, Jacqueline. Guests included Mulroney, Chrétien, and George H. W. Bush. A lengthy concert was even performed in her honour. Jacqueline was apparently a big Al Jolson fan in her youth. “I was a great imitator, in those days, of Al Jolson,” she reminisces during one segment. “And so we used to do all these—blacken our faces, and come down on Sunday mornings and sing...all those songs.” A singer, in blackface, then performs “Swanee” on stage while the loving couple sings along. Paul Desmarais Sr. at far left (Photo: Ryan Remiorz/CP) less