Peter Munk, the founder and former chairman of Barrick Gold, died today.
The company’s statement said, “Munk passed away peacefully in Toronto today, surrounded by his family,”
“This is a country that does not ask about your origins, it only concerns itself with your destiny.”
Peter Munk was the young refugee from Hungary, who in escaping the Nazis, arrived in Toronto in 1947 with little to his name and unable to speak English.
“I arrived in this place not speaking the language, not knowing a dog . . . This is a country that does not ask about your origins, it only concerns itself with your destiny.” Munk said in 2014.
An entrepreneur, he founded several businesses, including a furniture and high end electronics business, a hotel chain and several real estate ventures.
Peter Munk walks away from the podium after stepping down during the company’s annual general meeting in Toronto on April 30, 2014. (Darren Calabrese/CP)
In 1983 he founded Barrick, which became the world’s biggest gold miner, with 10,000 employees around the world.
He shared his success in several philanthropic moves that totalled more that $300 million. (Cdn)
The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre was founded with a $100 million gift to the Toronto General Hospital in 1997.
“I will miss his wisdom, guidance, charm and wit, and the way in which he treated everyone he met with dignity and respect
It is still the largest single gift ever donated to a Canadian hospital.
“I will miss his wisdom, guidance, charm and wit, and the way in which he treated everyone he met with dignity and respect,” Dr. Barry Rubin told CBC News today.
Dr. Rubin is the medical director at the cardiac centre that bears Munk’s name,
He said Munk was frequently stopped on the street by people wanting to thank him for his role in saving their loved ones through the life-changing medical research he funded.
The Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto was another initiative, created in 2009 with an initial donation of $35,000.
Steven Toope, the school’s former director, says it cam out of Munk’s belief that Canadian values, such as openness and integrity, were two things the world needed more of.
“The creation of the Munk School of Global Affairs was Peter’s effort to take those Canadian values, and to help train generations of leaders to promote them on the world stage,” Toope told CBC News.
Peter Munk leaves Melanie, his wife of forty-five years, and his five children, Anthony, Nina, Marc-David, Natalie, and Cheyne, and his fourteen grandchildren.
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.