Media magnate Ken Thomson dies

TORONTO: Kenneth Thomson, an understated billionaire who was Canada’s richest person, died Monday at age 82.

Thomson, who owned about 70% of Thomson Corp, had become chairman of the global information company after the death of his father, Roy, in 1976. He turned the chairmanship over to his son, David, in ’02.

Mr Thomson remained on the board of Thomson and headed Woodbridge, his family’s private investment company. He was ranked ninth on the Forbes magazine list of the world’s wealthiest individuals with an estimated family fortune of $19.6bn.

Mr Thomson’s businesses include Thomson Financial, an electronic provider of financial information, and the legal information company Westlaw. The firm, has 40,500 employees and ’05 revenue of $8.5bn.