The legendary experience of Kenneth Thomson

"I hate the company's annual meeting very much. Because in order to prepare for the speech at the annual meeting, I have to make full psychological and spiritual preparations for a long time before the meeting. " "I'd rather others don't pay attention to me. I have been trying to be a good businessman and work in obscurity, but I can't say that I have become a slave to business. "

In the latest ranking of Forbes magazine's rich list in 2006, Kenneth Thomson still occupies the position of the ninth richest man in the world, with a personal net worth of $654.38+$09.6 billion, ranking the richest man in Canada for many years in a row. It is estimated that the Thomson family's assets are as high as $20.5 billion, controlling 70% of the shares of Thomson Group, and its family also owns 40% of the shares of Bell Global Media Company, which owns Canada's most influential Globe and Mail and Canadian TV News Network.

A double bachelor's degree from Cambridge University.

Kenneth thomson (month 1923) was born in Toronto and immigrated to Ontario with his father when he was 5 years old. Father Roy, the son of a barber, started by selling radios. Throughout the 1960s, Roy Thomson bought hundreds of newspapers in Britain and America, including The Sunday Times and other famous newspapers. During World War II, Thomson was a maintenance worker in the Canadian Air Force, and later obtained a bachelor's degree in economics and law from Cambridge University.

1976, when his father Roy died, Thomson took over the "Thomson Media Empire". Two years later, he became chairman of the board of Thomson.

Subsequently, Thomson bought the Globe and Mail, the only national newspaper in Canada at that time. In the 1980s, Thomson sold The Times, which suffered losses year after year and had constant labor disputes, to Murdoch. In 1990s, Thomson gradually shifted his business focus to the global legal and financial information and electronic printing industry, and then established the electronic information kingdom. In the industry, Thomson is also known as the Canadian version of Murdoch.

On June 5438+02, Canadian Prime Minister Harper publicly expressed his condolences over the death of Thomson, praising him as one of the most successful businessmen in Canada and making important contributions to Canada. Although worth hundreds of millions, Thomson is not ostentatious, but a shy person who doesn't want to show his face.

According to Parsons, biographer of Canada's mysterious rich man, when he was a teenager, Thomson worked as an announcer of radio weather forecast in the first radio station his father bought. But because of fear, Thomson was already sweating before the live broadcast. Parsons also mentioned that Thomson himself mentioned: "I hate Thomson's annual meeting very much. Because in order to prepare for the speech at the annual meeting, I have to make full psychological and spiritual preparations for a long time before the meeting. "

Thomson once said to the writer Newman, "I'd rather people didn't pay attention to me." I have been trying to be a good businessman, unknown and quietly, but I can't say that I have become a slave to business. "

Throughout his life, although he controlled the newspaper and publishing industry in Canada and even North America, Thomson rarely appeared in his own newspapers or magazines, let alone talked with reporters about his personal life. It is reported that the secret of Thomson's hobby of collecting art was told by the reporter "tricked" Thomson, which was widely reported after 2002.

"opportunist" businessman

In the field of media, Thomson's business is good, and his press and publication kingdom has stood firm in Canada for many years. Charles Bailey, Chairman and President of Dominion Bank of Canada, has known Thomson for 34 years. Bailey said: "Thomson has an extraordinary judgment on which areas to invest." In addition, he is good at using talents, and the principle of employing people is: employing people without doubt. "

Senior people familiar with Thomson said that Thomson is an extremely smart person with a keen sense of investment and a highly flexible "opportunistic" businessman. In the 1980s, the profit margin of Thomson Newspaper Group was as high as 30%, far exceeding other competitors. But when he realized that the prospect of the newspaper industry was not optimistic, he reshaped the company's business by selling it. In February 2002, Thomson Group unexpectedly announced that it would sell all its American and Canadian newspaper assets and concentrate on developing electronic publishing and information services. In 2002, Thomson announced his retirement and handed over the company to his son.

Self-driving old cars love to buy cheap goods, and simply walk to save parking fees. Rich as he is, Thomson never squanders a penny and lives a very frugal life. It is reported that Thomson dresses very cheaply and travels in economy class. What is even more incredible is that locals often see him buying food in Toronto grocery store, and even see him wearing shoes with worn heels. The media said that he always insisted on his "solitude" way, avoiding public attention and keeping a low profile.

Jim Pattison, 77, is the CEO of Jim Pattison Group, the head of Thomson's TD Bank, and a Canadian monopoly. Pattison recalled that in Toronto, he once saw Thomson braving the heavy snow and crossing the parking lot to attend a dinner party. It turned out that Thomson parked his car a few blocks away from the dinner to save parking fees.

Pattison said, "Compared with him, I am just a' little mouse' begging in the street. But in order to save this little money, he parked his car in the distance and walked a block or two to eat. I will never forget it. He is always so frugal in spending money. "

In order to save money, Thomson usually drives an old car without hiring a driver, parks it in a public parking lot, and even has his wife cut his hair. Although I am a member of six major clubs in Toronto, I seldom go there. In order to save money, he often goes a long way to buy cheap goods. Once, he bought six big food bags at a time, just for hamburgers on sale. But it was also on this day that he paid $6,465,438+0 million to buy a business. In this regard, Thomson's point of view is that "spending money indiscriminately is a sin, and creating wealth is sacred."

There are three of the most precious famous paintings in the world, including Van Gogh's Portrait of Doctor Gachet. In addition to controlling Canada's huge media industry, Thomson's greatest hobby is art collection. In 2002, after Thomson retired, he focused on art collection.

Thomson donated a huge sum of money to expand the Ontario Art Museum before his death, and donated 3,000 art collections worth $200 million to the Art Museum. One of the most valuable paintings is "Innocent Killing", the masterpiece of Rubens, one of the three famous paintings in the world. 16 10. In 2002, he bought the painting at Sotheby's in England for $77 million. The other two of the three most expensive famous paintings in the world are Van Gogh's Portrait of Doctor Gachet and Renoir's The Mill in Gallette, with auction prices of $82.5 million and $7,865,438+million respectively.