TR chairman David Thomson's wealth up $53.5 million in a day

The increase meant that Thomson, pictured, saw a 5.8 per cent rise in his wealth over the past 12 months. 

The calculation was made by Bloomberg which placed Thomson 19th in its Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 20 wealthiest individuals, launched on Monday. The index excludes Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg because the privately-held company said it does not cover itself.

Thomson, 54, was described by Bloomberg as the patriarch of Canada’s wealthiest family controlling a media and technology giant as well as large holdings in telecommunications and commodity research through the family investment arm Woodbridge. “Thomson himself is known for large investments in Canadian real estate, a spectrum of art genres and a stake in an NHL hockey team, the Winnipeg Jets,” it added.

Top of the billionaires list is Carlos Slim Helu, Mexican telecommunications tycoon, with a fortune of $68.5 billion, followed by Bill Gates, Microsoft founder, $62.4 billion. ■