Peter Munk
| Peter Munk | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 8, 1927 Budapest, Hungary |
| Residence | Klosters, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | CEO of Barrick Gold |
| Known for | co-chairman and founder of Barrick Gold |
| Spouse(s) | Linda Joy Gutterson (1956-1970; divorced; 3 children) Melanie Jane Bosanquet (1973-present; 2 children) |
Peter Munk, CC (born November 8, 1927) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is the chairman and founder of the mining company Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold-mining corporation.
Munk was born in Budapest, Hungary, into a well-off Jewish family, the son of Katherine (Adler) and Louis L. Munk. Hungary was invaded by Nazi Germany in March 1944 when Munk was a teenager. His family escaped the Nazis on the Kastner train, a train carrying 1,684 Jews to safety in Switzerland, arranged by Rudolf Kastner of the Zionist Aid and Rescue Committee as a result of negotiations with senior SS officer Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann allowed some Jews to leave for Switzerland in exchange for money, gold, and diamonds, that was obtained from the wealthy among them as part of a series of so-called "blood for goods" deals.
Munk graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in electrical engineering in 1952.
In 1958, he founded Clairtone with business partner David Gilmour and backed by Frank Sobey. Clairtone manufactured high-end console stereos and later televisions, which were recognizable icons of their day. The most famous Clairtone designs were the "Project G" series which was seen in the film The Graduate.
Clairtone's downfall began with "an ill-advised plan to build a plant in Nova Scotia." The plant was built in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, where investor Frank Sobey had served as mayor and president of Nova Scotia’s Industrial Estates Limited (IEL). In 1967, due to increasing losses, Munk and Gilmore were forced to leave the company. "Munk was too good a salesman for his own good. He could sell anything to anyone, including himself…," said William Mingo, chief counsel for IEL. As a result, in order to try and recoup its multi-million dollar investments, the Government of Nova Scotia was forced to become owner of the company. Munk was eventually the target of accusations of insider trading "that were eventually settled out of court." In 1967 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."
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