Willard Gordon Galen Weston

Willard Gordon Galen Weston, also known as Galen Weston, was a Canadian retailer and philanthropist who was born in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, in 1940. He was the son of W. Garfield Weston, a Canadian businessman who owned a global empire of food and retail companies, and Reta Lila Howard, a socialite. He moved to Canada with his family in 1945, and attended Upper Canada College and the University of Western Ontario. He started his career in the grocery business in 1961, when he opened a supermarket in Dublin, Ireland. He later expanded his operations to include department stores, discount stores, and drugstores. He returned to Canada in 1972, and became the chairman of George Weston Limited, the company founded by his grandfather George Weston. He transformed the company into a diversified conglomerate, with interests in food processing, distribution, and retailing. He also acquired Loblaws, Canada's largest food retailer, and turned it into a market leader with innovative brands and formats. He was also the owner of Holt Renfrew, a luxury department store chain, and Selfridges Group, which operated upscale stores in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. He was listed by Forbes as one of the richest people in Canada and the world, with a net worth of US$8.7 billion as of April 2021. Weston was also a generous philanthropist, who donated millions of dollars to various causes and institutions, such as health care, education, arts, and culture. He was the founder and chairman of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, a family foundation that supported scientific research, conservation, and education. He was also the chairman of the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Garfield Weston Awards. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1990, and a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 2015. He died of natural causes in 2021 at the age of 80 and was buried in Toronto. He was remembered as one of the most influential and visionary businessmen and philanthropists in Canada and the world.