title: Clay Riddell
text: # Clay Riddell
  
  Clayton Howard Riddell, OC (July 13, 1937 – September 15, 2018) was a Canadian billionaire businessman who was the founder, president and CEO of Paramount Resources, based in Calgary, Alberta.
  
  ## Early life
  
  He was born on a farm near Treherne, Manitoba on July 13, 1937, the youngest child of Cecil Howard Riddell and Bertha Maude Riddell née Taylor. Riddell earned with a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Manitoba.
  
  ## Career
  
  He was part owner of the Calgary Flames, and high-end Calgary restaurant Catch. With an estimated net worth of US$2.5 billion (as of March 2011), he was ranked by Forbes as the 12th wealthiest Canadian and 459th in the world.
  
  Riddell was a president of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and chair of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
  
  The Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources at the University of Manitoba is named in his honour. He donated $10 million to create an endowment fund for the faculty, which combines the Department of Environment and Geography, the Department of Geological Sciences and the Natural Resources Institute.
  
  In 2008, Riddell was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his leadership and philanthropy.
  
  In May 2010, Carleton University announced the creation of Canada's first graduate program in political management, Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management, made possible through a donation from Riddell that is the largest in Carleton's history.
  
  ## Personal life
  
  He was married to Vi Thorarinson, a nurse for 49 years until her death from leukemia in 2012. They had three daughters and a son together, Lynne, Sue, Jim and Brenda. Sue Riddell Rose is the CEO of Perpetual Energy.
  
  Riddell died on September 15, 2018, after a short illness.
  
  