BCE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-06-13 published
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON,
Kenneth (1923-2006)
The gentle magnate
Billionaire Canadian visionary and arts patron is dead at 82
By Elizabeth
CHURCH,
Page A1
Kenneth THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON, the architect of a global media empire, a passionate
art collector and animal lover and one of the world's wealthiest
men, died yesterday at age 82.
The unassuming billionaire had a keen eye for a deal and he used
it to transform his father Roy's far-flung business empire into
Thomson Corp., a focused publisher of electronic information,
worth about $30-billion. The
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON family also kept a private
interest in traditional media through their part ownership in
Bell Globemedia, which includes the CTV network and The Globe
and Mail.
Outside the business world, Mr.
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON made his mark as one
of the country's greatest benefactors to the arts world. In 2002,
he announced he would hand over his beloved collection of more
than 2,000 works to the Art Gallery of Ontario, along with $70-million
in cash to fund future operations and toward a massive $200-million
renovation and expansion of the gallery by architect Frank Gehry.
Those close to him said yesterday one of the tragedies of his
death is that he will not be there to see the opening of the
new galleries that he influenced so profoundly through his gift.
"Our dream was to cut the ribbon together and it's not going
to happen," Art Gallery of Ontario director Matthew
TEITELBAUM
said yesterday.
Mr. THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON collapsed at his downtown Toronto office yesterday
morning from a fatal heart attack, after arriving early, as was
his habit. His death occurred just one day before he and his
wife, Marilyn, were to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
It also followed a weekend that Mr.
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON spent with his three
children -- sons David and Peter and daughter, Taylor.
"We will miss his support and companionship terribly, said David
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON, who in 2002 succeeded his father as the chairman of
Thomson Corp.
"All of my grandfather's family are deeply grateful to my father
for his wise stewardship of our family interests for more than
30 years. More importantly he was a gentle and kind man who impressed
everyone with whom he came in contact. He was much loved."
Others remembered a gentle man who always knocked before entering
an office and chatted with those who delivered his Globe and
Mail in the pre-dawn hours.
He paid special visits to abused pets in the pound. He never
assumed his enormous wealth entitled him to wield inordinate
power, they said.
"He never felt the need to express himself above the crowd,"
said Geoffrey
BEATTIE, president of Woodbridge Co. Ltd., the
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON family's private company. "I've never met a person ever
who could make you feel so good about yourself."
Prime
Minister
Stephen Harper paid tribute to Mr.
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON and
his family for their significant cultural gifts as well as their
commitment to "quality journalism and the rights of an informed
public."
"Mr. THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON was one of Canada's most successful businessmen
and combined his financial acumen with his commitment to serve
both his country and his community," he said.
Said Ted Rogers, chief executive officer of Rogers Communications
Inc.: "Ken
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON was a friend, one of the greatest business
men in the world, an art collector of unimaginable proportions.
He was a visionary and had the leadership skills to implement
substantial change of direction for Thomson Corp."
Mr. THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON was born in 1923 in Toronto and lived most of his
childhood in Timmins, in Northern Ontario.
He leaves behind a company much different from the one he took
over 30 years ago on the death of his father, newspaper magnate
Roy, the First Lord Thomson of Fleet. In the mid-1970s the
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON
organization was a conglomerate, with a hodge-podge collection
of newspapers, North Sea oil and travel agencies.
Mr. THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON concentrated the company's holdings in North America
and after venturing into retail briefly with an investment in
Hudson Bay Co., sharpened its focus to electronic publishing.
Thomson Corp. is now a tightly focused electronic information
group of global reach, with most of its sales coming from subscription-based
electronic products and services in the legal, financial, educational,
health-care and science fields.
Through it all, Mr.
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON gained a reputation as an astute
deal maker who bought at the bottom and had the wits to get out
at the top. His most recent deal was the reacquisition late last
year by the
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON family of effective control of Bell Globemedia,
including The Globe and Mail, and a new partnership with rival
Torstar Corp.
John A. TORY, the lawyer and close family adviser for 50 years,
said yesterday that Mr.
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON was always aware that he was
the guardian of the fortune built by his father from a small
radio station in Timmins to ownership of papers such as The Times
of London. "He was always conscious of the legacy that he had
inherited and he felt very deeply that with it came an obligation
to build upon the foundation established by his father."
Ivan Fecan, president and chief executive officer of Bell Globemedia
and head of CTV, said the way Mr.
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON led his life is a lesson
for us all. "In business, in philanthropy, in life, Ken
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON
led by example," he said. "He was a humble man who loved dogs,
a media and business visionary, an art collector with incredible
taste and a warm, loving family man."
BCE president and chief executive officer Michael Sabia singled
out Mr. THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON's remarkable achievements. "In any country, in
any field of endeavour, some people stand above the rest. For
many years, Ken
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON stood as a giant in the business he loved
so much and led so well."
Former prime minister Paul Martin remembered Mr.
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON's humble
attitude. "Our fathers were good Friends and I consider myself
truly fortunate to have known Ken," he said. "For a man who managed
an international media empire, laid claim to a noble title and
was one of the most successful businessmen in the world, Ken
was astonishingly modest. He never sought the spotlight -- instead,
everything Ken did, he did because he loved it.
Mr. THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON inherited his father's title, First Lord
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON
of Fleet, but chose not to sit in the House of Lords.
Indeed, many stories of Mr.
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON's self-effacing attitude
and his passion for art and animals emerged yesterday on the
news of his death.
"When Ken looked at a work of art, or shared his views about
what a work of art meant to him, his eyes sparkled," the Art
Gallery of Ontario's Mr.
TEITELBAUM remembered. "He caught you
in his eye and talked from his heart."
Lynda Elmy, communications director with the Toronto Humane Society,
said he was concerned about the welfare of animals. "He took
a great interest in animals, especially dogs, and especially
abandoned and abused dogs."
With his death, the
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON family must now build on his legacy.
Roger MARTIN, a member of the Thomson board of directors and
dean of University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management,
said it is difficult to "take something great" and move it to
the next level of growth. "Roy was a great man who built this
medium thing, and Ken was a great man who built this big thing.
I think David's got this opportunity to build something even
more magnificent."
In any country, in any field of endeavour, some people stand
above the rest. For many years, Ken
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON stood as a giant
in the business he loved so much and led so well.' Michael Sabia,
BCE president and chief executive officer
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