Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet (September 1, 1923 – June 12, 2006), in Canada known as Ken Thomson, was a Canadian
businessman and art collector who, at the time of his death, was the richest person in Canada
, and the ninth richest person in the world, according to Forbes.com, with assets of approximately US $17.9 billion.
, Ontario
. He was the son of the late Roy Thomson
. The family moved from the United Kingdom
to Canada when Roy Thomson was young. The elder Thomson was the founder of the Thomson Corporation
, a forerunner of Thomson Reuters
. Thomson Corporation was formerly best known as a newspaper company whose properties included The Times
, but has since Roy's death divested almost all its traditional newspaper assets in favour of electronic information services and products, save The Globe and Mail
daily.
Kenneth Thomson was educated at Upper Canada College
in Toronto and at St. John's College of the University of Cambridge
in the UK
(he received his degree in Economics and Law). During World War II
, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force
. Following the war, he completed his education and entered the family business. In 1956, he married Nora Marilyn Lavis, with whom he had three children: David
, Peter
, and Lynne (now known as Taylor).
. In a 1980 interview with Saturday Night
magazine he said "In London I'm Lord Thomson, in Toronto I'm Ken. I have two sets of Christmas cards and two sets of stationery. You might say I'm having my cake and eating it too
. I'm honouring a promise to my father by being Lord Thomson, and at the same time I can just be Ken."
He also succeeded his father as chair of what was then a media empire made up of extensive newspaper and television holdings. The Thomson media empire added the prestigious Globe and Mail in Toronto to The Times
and Sunday Times
in Britain and The Jerusalem Post
in Israel
. Under Lord Thomson of Fleet, the Thomson Corporation sold its North Sea oil
holdings and sold The Times to Rupert Murdoch
's News Corporation
and the Jerusalem Post to Conrad Black
's Hollinger Inc.
The Globe and Mail was combined with BCE's cable and television assets (including CTV
and The Sports Network
) to form Bell Globemedia
, controlled by BCE with Thomson as a minority shareholder. The company then sold all of its community newspapers to become a financial data services giant and one of the world's most powerful information services and academic publishing companies. Today, the company operates primarily in the United States
from its headquarters in Stamford
, Connecticut
. In 2002, The Thomson Corporation was listed on the New York Stock Exchange
as "TOC".
According to Forbes Magazine in 2005, the Thomson family is the richest in Canada, and Lord Thomson of Fleet was the fifteenth richest person in the world, with a personal net worth of US $17.9 billion. Between the time of that report and his death, he jumped six positions to ninth with assets of almost $22.6 billion.
Over the past fifty years, Thomson distinguished himself as one of North America's leading art collectors and has been a major benefactor to the Art Gallery of Ontario
. In 2002 he paid the highest price ever for a Canadian painting when he purchased Canadian artist Paul Kane
's Scene in the Northwest: Portrait of John Henry Lefroy
. At a Sotheby's
auction that year, Thomson purchased Peter Paul Rubens' painting "The Massacre of the Innocents
" for £49.5 million (CAD $117 million).
, installing his eldest son, David Thomson. He retained his positions as Chairman of The Woodbridge Company
, the family's holding company, which owned a controlling share of Thomson Corporation. Following his retirement from active business, he donated to the Art Gallery of Ontario
nearly 2,000 art works worth more than US $300 million, representing the finest private art collection in Canada. His gift contained masterpieces by renowned Canadian artists plus those from his collection of European works of art dating from the Middle Ages
to the mid-nineteenth century, including Rubens' Massacre of the Innocents
.
In his final years Thomson lived in the Rosedale area died in 2006 in Toronto
at his office of an apparent heart attack.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
businessman and art collector who, at the time of his death, was the richest person in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the ninth richest person in the world, according to Forbes.com, with assets of approximately US $17.9 billion.
Early life and career
Kenneth Thomson was born on September 1, 1923 in North BayNorth Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He was the son of the late Roy Thomson
Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet
Roy Herbert Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet GBE was a Canadian newspaper proprietor and media entrepreneur.-Career:...
. The family moved from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to Canada when Roy Thomson was young. The elder Thomson was the founder of the Thomson Corporation
Thomson Corporation
The Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies.Thomson was active in financial services, healthcare sectors, law, science & technology research, and tax & accounting sectors...
, a forerunner of Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation is a provider of information for the world's businesses and professionals and is created by the Thomson Corporation's purchase of Reuters Group on 17 April 2008. Thomson Reuters is headquartered at 3 Times Square, New York City, USA...
. Thomson Corporation was formerly best known as a newspaper company whose properties included The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, but has since Roy's death divested almost all its traditional newspaper assets in favour of electronic information services and products, save The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
daily.
Kenneth Thomson was educated at Upper Canada College
Upper Canada College
Upper Canada College , located in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is an independent elementary and secondary school for boys between Senior Kindergarten and Grade Twelve, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The secondary school segment is divided into ten houses; eight are...
in Toronto and at St. John's College of the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(he received his degree in Economics and Law). During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
. Following the war, he completed his education and entered the family business. In 1956, he married Nora Marilyn Lavis, with whom he had three children: David
David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet
David Kenneth Roy Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet is a Canadian media magnate. He is the son of the late Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet and his siblings are actress Taylor Thomson and Peter Thomson...
, Peter
Peter Thomson (race car driver)
Peter John Thomson is a Canadian rally race car driver with Thomson Motorsport and a venture capitalist. Peter is married to Diana Thomson. Peter and Diana have one daughter....
, and Lynne (now known as Taylor).
Media owner
On his father's death, Thomson succeeded as 2nd Lord Thomson of Fleet. However, Thomson never used his noble title in Canada and never took up his seat in the House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. In a 1980 interview with Saturday Night
Saturday Night (magazine)
Saturday Night was a Canadian general interest magazine. It was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1887.The publication was first established as a weekly broadsheet newspaper about public affairs and the arts, which was later expanded into a general interest magazine. The editor, Edmund E. Sheppard,...
magazine he said "In London I'm Lord Thomson, in Toronto I'm Ken. I have two sets of Christmas cards and two sets of stationery. You might say I'm having my cake and eating it too
Have one's cake and eat it too
To have one's cake and eat it too is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech, sometimes stated as eat one's cake and have it too or simply have one's cake and eat it. This is most often used negatively, to connote the idea of consuming a thing whilst managing to preserve it...
. I'm honouring a promise to my father by being Lord Thomson, and at the same time I can just be Ken."
He also succeeded his father as chair of what was then a media empire made up of extensive newspaper and television holdings. The Thomson media empire added the prestigious Globe and Mail in Toronto to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
in Britain and The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Under Lord Thomson of Fleet, the Thomson Corporation sold its North Sea oil
North Sea oil
North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas, produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea.In the oil industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and the area known as "West of Shetland", "the Atlantic Frontier" or "the...
holdings and sold The Times to Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
and the Jerusalem Post to Conrad Black
Conrad Black
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...
's Hollinger Inc.
Hollinger Inc.
Hollinger Inc. was a Canadian media company based in Toronto. It was created by the Canadian businessman Conrad Black as a holding company for his media interests after he acquired control of The Daily Telegraph in 1986. It was the parent company of Chicago-based Hollinger International, whose...
The Globe and Mail was combined with BCE's cable and television assets (including CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
and The Sports Network
The Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
) to form Bell Globemedia
Bell Globemedia
Bell Media is the mass media subsidiary of BCE . Its operations include television broadcasting and production , radio broadcasting , Digital Media, and Internet properties.Bell Media is the successor-in-interest to Baton Broadcasting...
, controlled by BCE with Thomson as a minority shareholder. The company then sold all of its community newspapers to become a financial data services giant and one of the world's most powerful information services and academic publishing companies. Today, the company operates primarily in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from its headquarters in Stamford
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. In 2002, The Thomson Corporation was listed on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
as "TOC".
According to Forbes Magazine in 2005, the Thomson family is the richest in Canada, and Lord Thomson of Fleet was the fifteenth richest person in the world, with a personal net worth of US $17.9 billion. Between the time of that report and his death, he jumped six positions to ninth with assets of almost $22.6 billion.
Over the past fifty years, Thomson distinguished himself as one of North America's leading art collectors and has been a major benefactor to the Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
. In 2002 he paid the highest price ever for a Canadian painting when he purchased Canadian artist Paul Kane
Paul Kane
Paul Kane was an Irish-born Canadian painter, famous for his paintings of First Nations peoples in the Canadian West and other Native Americans in the Oregon Country....
's Scene in the Northwest: Portrait of John Henry Lefroy
Scene in the Northwest: Portrait of John Henry Lefroy
Scene in the Northwest: Portrait of John Henry Lefroy, also known as The Surveyor, is a painting by Paul Kane circa 1845. It sold at auction in 2002 for C$5.1 million, making it the most expensive Canadian painting ever sold. It was purchased by media magnate Ken Thomson, who donated it to the Art...
. At a Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
auction that year, Thomson purchased Peter Paul Rubens' painting "The Massacre of the Innocents
Massacre of the Innocents (Rubens)
The Massacre of the Innocents is the title of either of two paintings by Peter Paul Rubens depicting an episode of the biblical Massacre of the Innocents as related in the Gospel of Matthew.-The lost masterpiece:...
" for £49.5 million (CAD $117 million).
Retirement
In 2002, Lord Thomson of Fleet stepped down as Chair of Thomson CorporationThomson Corporation
The Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies.Thomson was active in financial services, healthcare sectors, law, science & technology research, and tax & accounting sectors...
, installing his eldest son, David Thomson. He retained his positions as Chairman of The Woodbridge Company
The Woodbridge Company
The Woodbridge Company Limited is a Canadian private holding company and the principal and controlling shareholder of Thomson Reuters...
, the family's holding company, which owned a controlling share of Thomson Corporation. Following his retirement from active business, he donated to the Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
nearly 2,000 art works worth more than US $300 million, representing the finest private art collection in Canada. His gift contained masterpieces by renowned Canadian artists plus those from his collection of European works of art dating from the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
to the mid-nineteenth century, including Rubens' Massacre of the Innocents
Massacre of the Innocents (Rubens)
The Massacre of the Innocents is the title of either of two paintings by Peter Paul Rubens depicting an episode of the biblical Massacre of the Innocents as related in the Gospel of Matthew.-The lost masterpiece:...
.
In his final years Thomson lived in the Rosedale area died in 2006 in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
at his office of an apparent heart attack.