There really is no shortage of wealth in Canada and, by extension, Alberta.
The Great White North was ranked seventh in the world in an international list released in May of the countries with the most millionaires.
Not surprisingly, as the fledgeling economic engine of the country, Alberta has its share of wealth makers as well.
According to 2012 figures and rankings from Canadian Business magazine, Forbes, MSN Money, Wikipedia and WealthInsight, there are reportedly seven billionaires — with a 'b' — living in Wild Rose Country, and countless others who count their wealth in the hundreds of millions.
Though most of them have at least one finger in the oil and gas industry — that which blesses Alberta with its present fortunes — there are also those who have made their wealth in real estate, coffee, pharmacies, broadcasting, utilities.
What many of them do have in common is sports.
Oil and gas tycoon Clay Riddell, as well as energy giant Murray Edwards both own stakes in the Calgary Flames.
One of the wealthiest men in the province is also one of the most polarizing. Daryl Katz, of Rexall fortunes, is getting massive help from taxpayers to build a new arena for his Edmonton Oilers.
Ron Southern, patriarch of the ATCO group, is also the man behind Spruce Meadows, often cited as one of the top showjumping venues in the world.
With a reported worth estimated at $0.67 billion, Allan Markin barely makes the list of wealthiest Albertans. But he too is part owner of the Calgary Flames.
Of note is the fact most of those who made the list are self-made men, formerly plugging away as regular Joes, and eventually turning their efforts into millions. A good example is Ron Joyce, a former cop who ended up turning that ever-popular police pastime of doughnuts and coffee into a cash fountain, a most Canadian of Canadian icons known as Tim Hortons.
Others, well, they don't even get paid for their efforts.
Of Boardwalk REIT wealth and fame, Canadian Business said "Sam Kolias is a compensation committee's dream. He draws no salary, bonus or unit-based compensation. Yet since becoming chair and CEO in 1984 he has grown Boardwalk's market cap from $200,000 to more than $2 billion, and the value of his stake accordingly."
It's also worth noting that none of the top 11 wealthiest residents in Alberta are women. Equality, it seems, still has too high a price.
Click through the gallery below for the wealthiest people in Alberta.
