Where Oilers owner Katz ranks among Canada’s richest people

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One has to be quite wealthy to purchase an NHL team, and Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz is just that.

After several unsuccessful attempts, Katz bought the Oilers in 2008 for roughly $200 million. That’s turned out to be a massive win for the 63-year-old, as the organization is now the NHL’s seventh-most valuable franchise at $2.4 billion.

Prior to getting involved with the Oilers, Katz made his fortune in the pharmacy business. He wound up selling the Rexall pharmacy business in 2016, and that, along with his ownership of the Oilers, makes him one of the richest people in Canada, as per Maclean’s magazine.

According to Maclean’s, Katz is worth approximately $5.84 billion, making him the 29th richest Canadian alive.

“His most ambitious project to date is the $2.5 billion transformation of 25 acres in downtown Edmonton into a sports and entertainment district, complete with condos, a public plaza, shops and a hotel,” a snippet from the Maclean’s article reads.

Though Katz received his fair share of criticism in the early days of owning the Oilers due to the team’s struggles, that has since changed.

Not only have the Oilers begun winning a lot of games in recent years, but the transformation of Edmonton’s downtown area has been well received, as has their new (ish) arena, Rogers Place, which opened for the 2016-17 season.

Seeing Katz this high on the Maclean’s list doesn’t come as a major surprise, as he skyrocketed up the 2024 billionaires list published by Forbes in April, sitting at 612th. According to the list, he had amassed a whopping $700 million over the last year.

Suffice it to say, the Oilers won’t have any problems spending right to the cap each and every year as long as Katz remains the man signing the cheques.

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