Ken Thomson dies

Canada's richest man, one of its greatest philanthropists Ken Thomson (Lord Thomson of Fleet) has died at the age of 82. Thomson's relationship to the magazine world was at several removes, since he took Thomson Corp. in a new direction in the last two decades, away from the newspaper and publishing empire his father, Roy, had built. Thomson Corp. became known for its strengths in data and electronic publishing in law, finance, medicine and science. Nevertheless, he held onto the Globe and Mail through the family holding company's 40% ownership of what is now Bell Globemedia, the company that also owns the CTV television network.

The Thomson family wealth was estimated by Forbes magazine to have been just shy of $20 billion. David Thomson, who took over running Thomson Corporation in 2002, will now assume the mantle of Lord Thomson of Fleet (one of the last British hereditary peerages created).

Read more at cbc.ca. Also coverage from the New York Times.