When people think about making big money, they typically envision huge American corporations and top dogs like Ted Turner and Bill Gates. That’s not to say that you can’t make a heck of a lot of money in Canada, though. In fact, when you look at Forbes list of the world’s top 100 billionaires, there are at least TWO Canadians among that illustrious group. This is according to the 2007 list.

Coming in at #10 with a net worth of $22.0 billion is David Thomson and his family. Officially, his full name is David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet, but we’ll just call him Dave. Dave is the Chairman of the Thomson Corporation, a post that he has held since 2002. He inherited the family fortune from his father (Kenneth Thomson) died in 2006. The Thomson Corporation is comprised of five segments — Financial, Health Care, Legal, Scientific, and Tax & Accounting — and they produce a series of higher education textbooks and other reference materials. In May 2007, Thomson merged with Reuters in a deal valued at $17.2 billion. Thomson will take 70% control of the new company, but the head will be Tom Glocer, the current head of Reuters.

The other Canadian billionaire who made the top 100 list is Galen Weston of Associated British Foods. Much like Dave above, Galen has one of a really long full name too: Willard Gordon Galen Weston, OC, OOnt. It seems like the prerequisite to being a world billionaire is having a lengthy name and a storied heritage. Weston is the grandson of George Weston, founder of the George Weston Bakeries Limited. You might also know the Weston name through the family’s vested interest in Loblaws, Holt Renfrew, and Selfridges. Although Galen is Canadian, he has considerable interests in the United Kingdom. In 1990, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.