Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet

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Kenneth Roy Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet (born September 1, 1923 in Toronto , Ontario , † June 12, 2006 ibid) was a Canadian businessman, art collector and patron.

Life

Ken Thomson was the third child and only son of Roy Herbert Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet (1894–1976), the founder of The Thomson Corporation . During World War II he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force . He then studied at the University of Cambridge and after graduating entered the parental media business.

Thomson sr. developed Canada's dominant press group from a small radio station in northern Ontario. He later invested in North Sea Oil (1971-1989) and travel agencies, acquired stakes in the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the London Times (1967-1981). Kenneth Thomson acquired a majority stake in Hudson's Bay Company in 1979. From 1976 to 2002 he headed the Thomson Corporation and was the largest shareholder with a stake of 69 percent until his death. Since 1980, Canada's leading daily newspaper, The Globe and Mail , has been the lead medium of the Thomson Corporation media group and its Bell Globemedia media group.

Thomson continued the transformation and expansion of the family holding company into a dominant provider of electronic information and services. Among many other databases, WestLaw (law), Investest (finance) and workopolis (job offers) occupy a leading position in the e-information market. What Google does for general information, Thomson wanted to be as a high-end provider of special information.

According to Forbes Magazine , the Thomson family is the richest in Canada. Kenneth Thomson himself was considered the ninth richest person in the world, he increased his personal wealth from 500 million US dollars in 1976 to an estimated amount of about 19.6 billion US dollars in 2006; the Thomson Corp. was valued at $ 29.5 billion in 2006, but Thomson's greatest gift was his ability to discover, nurture, and trust capable and visionary people.

Thomson rarely spoke in public and when he did, he spoke about his great passion, art. He paid special attention to Canadian painters such as Cornelius Krieghoff , Paul Kane and the " Group of Seven ". In 2002 he donated over $ 300 million worth of art to the Art Gallery of Ontario . Among the 2000 works of art donated was the hitherto most expensive painting by an old master that was ever auctioned: The "Bethlehemite Child Murder" by Peter Paul Rubens (see link to Day of Innocent Children ). Thomson acquired the painting at Sotheby’s auction in 2002 for £ 49.5 million. In addition, he donated 70 million US dollars to the gallery for its renovation and expansion according to plans by star architect Frank Gehry .

He left behind his wife Marilyn (née Nora Marilyn Lavis), the children David, Peter and Lynne and their families. His business successor was his son and heir David , who had previously been chairman of Thomson Corp. since 2002. had been.

literature

  • Parsons, Vic: Ken Thomson. Canada's enigmatic billionaire , Toronto, Burgher 1996, 207 pp.
  • Newman, Peter Charles : Merchant princes , Toronto, Viking 1991, XVII, 502 pp., Ill., Cards (history of HBC )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Kenneth Thomson, 1923-2006," The Globe and Mail, June 12, 2006
  2. ^ Gary Norris: Billionaire Kenneth Thomson, Canada's richest man, dead at 82 , CBC , June 12, 2006
  3. Gary Norris: "David Thomson takes over stewardship of Canada's large largest fortune" , CBC , June 13, 2006
predecessor Office successor
Roy Herbert Thomson Baron Thomson of Fleet
1976-2006
David Thomson