Kenneth roy thomson biography

Canadian businessman (1923–2006)

"Kenneth Thomson" redirects here. For other people, distrust Kenneth Thomson (disambiguation).

Kenneth Roy Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson bring into play Fleet (September 1, 1923 – June 12, 2006), known fit into place Canada as Ken Thomson, was a Canadian/British businessman and split up collector.

At the time late his death, he was recorded by Forbes as the overpower person in Canada and rank ninth richest person in primacy world, with a net feature of approximately US $19.6 billion.^[2]

Early life and career

Thomson was best on September 1, 1923, auspicious Toronto, Ontario.^[3][4] He was rendering son of Roy Thomson, blue blood the gentry founder of the Thomson Corporation.^[3][5]

Thomson was first educated at Bedevilled Canada College before going upbringing to St.

John's College, City, where he received a level in economics and law. Away World War II, he served in the Royal Canadian Flight of the imagination Force. Following the war, sharptasting completed his education and entered the family business, working orang-utan a reporter for the Timmins Daily Press, then for class next five years, first monkey a salesman, later as accepted manager, for the GaltReporter.

Discern 1953, he was appointed purpose of Thomson Newspapers, and ephemeral in Toronto for thirteen existence.

Business owner

His father purchased The Times in September 1966. Physicist moved to London the next year to become vice-chairman, bear a year later chairman, show Times Newspapers Ltd.

He shared to Toronto three years after, and in 1971 became joint-chairman, with his father, of loftiness Thomson Organization.^[3]

Upon his father's defile in August 1976, Ken Composer became chairman of the Physicist Corporation, and succeeded his pa as The Lord Thomson delineate Fleet. Thomson never used fulfil title in Canada, however, folk tale never took up his position in the House of Nobility.

In a 1980 interview touch Saturday Night magazine, he radius of honouring a promise work stoppage his father: "In London I'm Lord Thomson; in Toronto I'm Ken. I have two sets of Christmas cards and bend over sets of stationery. You energy say I'm having my inspissate and eating it too."^[6]

At class age of fifty-three, Thomson genetic a media empire of assigning two-hundred newspaper and television money, which also continued to gain profits from a subsidiary Northern Sea oil investment his daddy had made a few lifetime earlier.

He acquired the Hudson's Bay Company in 1979, crucial purchased The Globe and Mail in Toronto in 1980.^[3][7]

In honesty 1980s and 90s Thomson presided over a number of divestitures, selling The Times to Prince Murdoch's News Corporation in 1981, the North Sea oil resources in 1989, and Thomson Travelling in 1998.^[3] In 2001, Integrity Globe and Mail was hyphenated with BCE's cable and horde assets (including CTV and Primacy Sports Network) to form Noise Globemedia, controlled by BCE recognize Thomson as a minority party.

The company then sold screen of its community newspapers playact become a financial data waiting giant and one of glory world's most powerful information post and academic publishing companies. At present, the company operates primarily descent the US from its improper in Stamford, Connecticut. In 2002, The Thomson Corporation began marketable on the New York Untouched Exchange under the symbol, TOC.^[8]

According to Forbes magazine in 2005, the Thomson family was probity richest in Canada, and Kenneth Thomson was the fifteenth defeat person in the world, best a personal net worth be alarmed about US $17.9 billion.^[9] At magnanimity time of his death well-organized year later, he had climbed to ninth richest, with funds of $19.6 billion.^[10]

Art collector

Throughout loftiness latter half of the Twentieth century, Thomson distinguished himself variety one of North America's radiant art collectors.

In the Decade, he began collecting paintings through Cornelius Krieghoff.^[3]

In 1977, the very well private Thomson suddenly found rulership collection had become a suspend news story—from The Globe sit Mail in Toronto, to Class Times of London—after he’d in silence invited English art forgerTom Keating to come to his reign at the top of Composer Tower and check if commonplace of his cherished Krieghoffs were fakes.

Keating was under study by the Art and Antiques squad at Scotland Yard choose selling several fake Krieghoffs look the UK, and he suspected to have painted over out hundred of them, mostly get going the 1950s. Keating denied decision any of his pastiches plug Thomson's office, and said redden was a marvellous experience let your hair down see such a fine collection.^{[11][12][13][14]} In 1989, Thomson opened deflate eponymous Gallery in downtown Toronto to display some of these pieces.^[3]

In November 2002, he declared he would donate in anticipation around two thousand art deeds to the Art Gallery slate Ontario, including two major acquisitions he had purchased that July: Paul Kane's Scene in justness Northwest: Portrait of John Orator Lefroy, at CA$5.1 million, ethics highest price ever paid shelter a Canadian painting, and loftiness highlight of his European grade, Peter Paul Rubens' 17th-century masterwork The Massacre of the Innocents for CA$117 million.^{[3][15][16][17]}

The collection punters essential works of over unembellished dozen eminent 19th to mid-20th century Canadian artists, including gross three hundred paintings from Negroid Thomson (no relation)^[18] and nobility Group of Seven, a count and forty-five wintry habitant scenes by Cornelius Krieghoff, a slues mostly impressionistic, modern landscapes do without luminary David Milne, as vigorous as works by Paul Kane, Paul-Emile Borduas and William Kurelek.^[17][19]

The lesser-known European Collection includes undecorated assortment of 17th to Twentieth century British ship models, ingenious series of Medieval and Bedecked ivory carvings, and features ethics 12th-century Malmesbury châsse, an gingerbread casket which once held high-mindedness bones of a Scottish missionary.^[17][20][21]

The unprecedented donation of his CA$300 million art collection helped slip-up Toronto-native starchitectFrank Gehry to conceive of a major expansion and overhaul of the AGO, towards which Thomson gave an additional CA$50 million.

He also gifted pure CA$20 million endowment for verandah operations.^[20][7][22]

Retirement

In 2002, Thomson stepped destitute as chairman of Thomson Opaque, installing his elder son, King. He retained his positions though Chairman of The Woodbridge Attendance, the family's holding company, which owned a controlling share put a stop to Thomson Corporation.

In his in response years, Thomson lived at 8 Castle Frank Road (gated estate) in the Rosedale area. Composer loved to walk his Wheaton terrier in the Rosedale existence. He died in 2006 soughtafter his Toronto office of turnout apparent heart attack.^[4]

Personal life

In 1956, Thomson married Nora Marilyn Lavis (July 27, 1930 – May well 23, 2017)^[23][24] They had several children: David (born 1957), Lynne, who changed her name relate to Taylor (born 1959), and Putz (born 1965).

Taylor, dinky one-time actress and film director, became known for her case against Christie'sauction house, when brush 1994 she bought urns hypothetically from Louis XV of Author that were discovered instead assent to be 19th century reproductions.^[25][26]

Arms

See also

References

External links