James Irving – Billionaire

James K. Irving owns J.D. Irving, a conglomerate with more than two dozen companies in frozen foods, retail, shipbuilding, transportation and more. Its timber and forestry operation, based in New Brunswick, has planted nearly a billion trees since 1957, and holds the Guinness World Record for most trees planted in a hour (53,000). It also owns one of the biggest shipbuilders in Canada, which won an $18 billion bid in 2011 to build combat vessels. Brother Arthur is a billionaire as well — his Irving Oil operates some 900 gas stations in Canada and northeastern U.S. and owns Canada’s largest oil refinery. The family’s roots in Canada date back to the 19th century when James Dergavel Irving (James and Arthur’s grandfather) emigrated from Scotland. The initial businesses he founded included a lumber operation, general store and three farms. His son Kenneth Colin (K.C.) Irving added to the empire by founding the family’s oil operations in the 1920s. The family reportedly divided up assets after K.C. died in 1992; inter-family relations have turned fractious and icy since, and the brothers now reportedly rarely speak.