Age, Biography and Wiki

Michael Spavor (Michael Peter Todd Spavor) was born on 1976 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a Canadian consultant. Discover Michael Spavor's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 48 years old?

Popular As Michael Peter Todd Spavor
Occupation Consultant · director
Age 48 years old
Zodiac Sign
Born 1976
Birthday 1976
Birthplace Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nationality Canada

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 1976. He is a member of famous director with the age 48 years old group.

Michael Spavor Height, Weight & Measurements

At 48 years old, Michael Spavor height not available right now. We will update Michael Spavor's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
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Dating & Relationship status

He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Not Available
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Michael Spavor Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Michael Spavor worth at the age of 48 years old? Michael Spavor’s income source is mostly from being a successful director. He is from Canada. We have estimated Michael Spavor's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income director

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Timeline

1976

Michael Peter Todd Spavor (born 1976) is a Canadian consultant who has worked extensively in North Korea.

He is the director and founding member of Paektu Cultural Exchange, a NGO that facilitates sports, cultural, tourism and business exchanges involving North Korea.

2001

Spavor's ties with North Korea go back to at least 2001, when he first visited the country.

2005

In 2005, he became the managing director of a Vancouver-based NGO and spent six months working as a teacher at an affiliated school in Pyongyang.

In the same year, he met American defector James Joseph Dresnok in Pyongyang.

2010

He also was a council member of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch from 2010 to 2013, giving lectures and leading cultural excursions.

He gained attention for restoring and living in a hanok in Bugahyeon-dong in western Seoul, and appeared in a music video for the K-pop group SES.

From 2010 to 2013, Spavor worked for the Pyongyang Project, a Canadian non-profit that organized educational exchanges in North Koreans and provided scholarships for North Korean students overseas, and in 2015 he founded Paektu Cultural Exchange.

Spavor has strong personal ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

2013

In September 2013, Spavor facilitated the second visit of Dennis Rodman to North Korea and became one of the few Westerners to have met Kim while in the city of Wonsan.

2014

Spavor later organized Rodman's 2014 visit.

Spavor has been involved in the financial development of Wonsan, which is a high priority for Kim Jong-un, who has invested at least $150 million into the city.

In November 2023, it was reported that Spavor decided to sue the federal government for entangling him in espionage activities without his knowledge, and he is seeking a multimillion dollar settlement.

According to Spavor, he gave sensitive information to Michael Kovrig, who then secretly gave the information to the Canadian government and its Five Eyes surveillance services without getting Spavor's permission.

Spavor said that it was Kovrig's intelligence work that resulted in the arrest and detention of both Canadians.

2016

Spavor is friends with Kenji Fujimoto, Kim Jong-il's Japanese former sushi chef, whom he first met in Japan in early 2016 and again in April 2016.

In South Korea, Spavor attended Kangwon National University and worked for the Korea Tourism Organization and Seoul Tourism Organization.

In January 2016, Spavor and Paektu Cultural Exchange sought a European Order for Payment against the betting company Paddy Power for failing to fulfill their contractual obligations after they pulled sponsorship for a basketball event to be held in North Korea.

In March 2016, Spavor organized the Pyongyang International Friendship Ice Hockey Exhibition (PIFIHE), bringing around 20 foreign hockey players to North Korea, including two Canadian residents of South Korea, for a series of games and other workshop events.

2017

In 2017, during a qualifying match between the North and South Korean women's ice hockey teams for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Spavor was assaulted by South Korean security officials as he tried to display the North Korean flag.

Outside of sports exchanges, Spavor also played a role in the restoration of the Ryongwang Pavilion in Pyongyang, spending four years on the project alongside the Prince Claus Fund and North Korea's National Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage.

Spavor is often consulted by analysts and journalists for insights into North Korea.

He has, however, been reluctant to comment on politics and human rights in North Korea.

2018

In December 2018, while he was living and working in Dandong on the Chinese side of the China–North Korea border, Spavor was taken into custody, along with Michael Kovrig, by Chinese officials.

The arrest was widely interpreted as retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

On August 10, 2021, Spavor was sentenced to 11 years in prison for espionage.

On September 24, 2021, Spavor was released after the dropping of Meng Wanzhou's extradition request as part of her deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Canadian officials initially claimed the espionage charges were "unfounded".

However, in 2023, it was revealed that Spavor may have unwittingly been used by Michael Kovrig for espionage, as Kovrig had passed on information relating to North Korea from Spavor to Canadian intelligence agencies.

Michael Spavor was born in Toronto, Ontario.

He has a degree from the University of Calgary in international relations, focusing on the Korean Peninsula and East Asian Studies, and has studied International Trade and Political Science at Kangwon National University in South Korea.

Spavor is fluent in Korean, including the North Korean dialect, and French.

In December 2018, China detained Spavor and Michael Kovrig, another Canadian national, on charges of endangering state security.

The arrests came shortly after Canada had arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, in what turned into an escalating diplomatic row between the two countries.

Spavor and Kovrig were reportedly held in isolation without being allowed outdoors, kept under lighting and surveillance 24 hours a day, with 6 to 8 hours of interrogations per day.

2019

China allowed three consular visits as of February 1, 2019.

During Spavor's detention, his friends noticed suspicious activity on his social media accounts, leading them to believe Chinese interrogators were accessing his accounts.

In mid-December 2018, a GoFundMe campaign was started to raise funds for Spavor to help with any legal and travel costs following his release, but three weeks later on January 7, 2019, the crowdfunding platform terminated the campaign.

Though the campaign had raised CA$14000 before being terminated, GoFundMe gave less than $500 to the designated beneficiary (Spavor's brother).

Though GoFundMe did not give an explanation, Spavor's friend speculated the reason might be Spavor's past promotion of tourism in North Korea, a country under US sanctions.