Kenneth Roy Thomson

Kenneth Roy Thomson, also known as 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, was a Canadian media mogul and art collector who was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1923. He was the son of Roy Thomson, the founder of Thomson Corporation, and Edna Thomson. He studied at Upper Canada College and the University of Cambridge, where he received a degree in law and economics. He joined the family business in 1956, and became chairman in 1976, after his father's death. He transformed Thomson Corporation from a newspaper company into a global information and media conglomerate, with interests in publishing, broadcasting, education, and finance. He also owned The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper, and was a minority shareholder in Bell Globemedia, which owned CTV and The Sports Network. He was listed by Forbes as the richest person in Canada and the ninth richest person in the world, with a net worth of approximately US $19.6 billion at the time of his death. Thomson was also a passionate art collector, who amassed the largest private art collection in Canada, valued at over $1 billion. His collection included works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Monet, Picasso, Matisse, and Warhol. He donated many of his artworks to the Art Gallery of Ontario, which named a wing after him. He also supported various causes and institutions, such as the Hospital for Sick Children, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the National Ballet of Canada. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1980, and inherited the title of Baron Thomson of Fleet from his father in 1976. He never used his title in Canada, however, and never took up his seat in the House of Lords. He died of heart failure in 2006 at the age of 82 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto. He was remembered as one of the most influential and generous Canadians of the 20th century, and a legend in the media and art industry.