Peter Munk

Munk was born in Budapest, into a prosperous Hungarian-Jewish family, the son of Katharina Adler Munk and Lajos "Louis" Munk (1898–1977).

His grandfather, Gábor "Gabriel" Munk, had descended from a family of rabbis, was a brother of the noted linguist and ethnologist Bernát Munkácsi (né Munk), and uncle of the Hungarian jurist and writer Erno Munkacsi.

Gábor became wealthy via Austro-Hungarian distribution rights for the popular Viennese chocolate brand, Manner, invested in real estate, then, during World War II, used what remained of his fortune to buy safe passage out of Hungary to neutral Switzerland for members of his immediate family, including his grandson Peter.

Peter Munk (November 8, 1927 – March 28, 2018) was a Hungarian-Canadian businessman, investor, and philanthropist.

He was the founder and chief executive officer of a number of high-profile business ventures, including the hi-fi electronics company Clairtone, real estate company Trizec Properties, and Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold-mining corporation.

Munk is known for his philanthropy, as a donor to Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at the Toronto General Hospital.

He is also well known for supporting the Munk Debates.

Hungary was occupied by Nazi Germany in March 1944, when Munk was aged 16; along with 14 members of his family, he escaped on the Kastner train, which carried 1,684 Jews to safety in Switzerland.

The journey had been arranged by Rudolf Kastner of the Zionist Aid and Rescue Committee, as a result of secret negotiations with Adolf Eichmann—the high-ranking Nazi had allowed some Jews to leave in exchange for money, gold, and diamonds, part of a series of so-called "blood for goods" deals.

Munk's mother, who divorced his father when he was four, was deported from Budapest to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944.

She survived, but later died by suicide.

Munk arrived in Canada in 1948, via Switzerland, initially on a student visa, then graduated from the University of Toronto, in 1952, with a degree in electrical engineering.

Decades later, he praised Canada: "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."

In 1958, with $2,800 from his father-in-law, Webber Pharmaceuticals (now Webber Naturals) founder William Jay Gutterson, he co-founded Clairtone with Scandinavian furniture importer David Gilmour.

Clairtone manufactured high-end console stereos, and later televisions, which were recognizable icons of their day.

The most celebrated Clairtone designs were the striking "Project G" series, introduced in 1964, composed of sleek rosewood cabinets with cantilevered black aluminum "sound globes" (speakers).

The Project G and G2 were seen in the films Marriage on the Rocks and The Graduate, awarded a silver medal for excellence at the Milan Triennial design exhibition, and endorsed by Frank Sinatra and Oscar Peterson.

Fans of the Project G included Hugh Hefner.

Clairtone's downfall began with "an ill-advised plan to build a plant in Nova Scotia."

The plant, built in Stellarton, opened in 1966 with funding from the province's Industrial Estates Limited (IEL).

According to William Mingo, chief counsel for IEL, as quoted in his daughter Nina Munk's book about Clairtone, "Munk was too good a salesman for his own good. He could sell anything to anyone, including himself. My, he was a promoter. My, he had energy. My, he had charm. My, he had imagination."

In 1967, as a result of mounting losses and in order to try to recoup its multi-million dollar investments, the Government of Nova Scotia took over Clairtone and fired Munk and Gilmour.

Munk faced accusations of insider trading "that were eventually settled out of court."

A report commissioned by Clairtone in the aftermath of the factory's failure found that one of the main issues was the local workforce.

"The general population is basically not geared to the manufacturing frenzy and especially the five-day workweek... The welfare situation is such that it has created conditions similar to Appalachia in the United States where the third generation is already on relief."

After the collapse of Clairtone, Munk and Gilmour invested in a plot of ocean-front land in Fiji which they soon developed into a hotel and resort.

This venture grew into the Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation, which at its peak consisted of 54 resorts in Australia and the South Pacific.

In 1978, the firm signed a deal with the President of Egypt to build a resort near the Great Pyramids.

When Anwar Sadat cancelled the project, Munk sued the Egyptian government, eventually winning the arbitration case at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

In 1979, Munk returned to Canada to start a new venture called Barrick, which he would eventually build into the world's largest gold company.

At the time, bankers and the establishment viewed him as "a fugitive and a loser," according to Munk.

Munk was also founder, chairman, and CEO of Trizec Properties (formerly TrizecHahn Corporation), one of the largest American real estate investment trusts.

In 1980, Munk created Barrick Petroleum to invest in the oil sector, but he quickly realized that investments in this sector were ruinous.

After the acquisition of a small company, Camflo Mines, Barrick left the oil sector and became overnight a mining company.

In 2006, Trizec Properties was sold to Brookfield Properties in a transaction valued at approximately $9 billion.

In 2007, Munk invested with partners in Porto Montenegro, a former naval base on the Adriatic Sea, turning it into a superyacht destination to rival Cannes and Monte Carlo.

He was the majority shareholder of Montport Capital, which owned the centrepieces of the complex, Porto Montenegro Marina and Resort.

He developed the site on the Bay of Kotor, putting Montenegro on the map for high-end tourism.

In 2011, Munk planned to merge with Glencore, Ivan Glasenberg's company, to create one of the world's largest commodities giants on par with BHP and Rio Tinto.

In 2016 Munk sold the marina and hotel to Investment Corporation of Dubai, a sovereign wealth fund, for an undisclosed amount, believed to be about 200 million euros.