Net Worth: $4.5 B
Age: 92
Source: Diversified
Industries: Diversified
James Irving owns J.D. Irving, a conglomerate with more than two dozen companies in frozen foods, retail, shipbuilding, transportation and more. His timber and forestry operation, based in New Brunswick, has planted over a billion trees since 1957. His family’s fortune dates back to the 19th century, when his grandfather left Scotland and launched a general store and lumber and farming companies. His father added to the empire with oil operations in the 1920s; upon his 1992 death the three brothers James, Arthur and John split the assets. Irving Woodlands, a division of J.D. Irving, is the sixth-largest landowner in the U.S. with 1.25 million acres of land. Jim and Robert Irving, James Irving’s sons, are co-CEOs of the J. D. Irving empire, which also includes one of Canada’s biggest shipbuilders.