Peter Munk, one of the most well-known names in mining, passed away on March 28 in Toronto at the age of 90, surrounded by family.

Munk was best known for founding Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold mining company, and his outsized charitable and cultural contributions. He went on to be named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2008. The award is the country’s highest civilian honour. These accomplishments are all the more impressive when considering that Munk arrived in Canada at the age of 20 with little more than a small suitcase and a poor understanding of English.

Munk was born in Budapest in 1927. In 1944, at age 16, Munk and his family escaped to Switzerland when the Nazis invaded Hungary. He made his way to Toronto in 1948 to pursue an education.

He received a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto and went into business, founding a string of successful companies and making a name for himself as an entrepreneur. In 1983, he began what would become his signature venture by purchasing two small gold mines in Ontario and Quebec to pivot his oil and gas enterprise, Barrick Resources, into a company focused exclusively on gold mining.

His influence continued to guide Barrick as it became a global mining company. “Barrick’s meteoric rise stemmed from its values, which were direct expressions of Peter’s character: a deep commitment to partnership, a balance of boldness and prudence, and distinctive excellence in everything the company does,” said John Thornton, Barrick’s executive chairman since 2012, in a reflection on the company’s website.

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Alan Hill, executive chairman of Teranga Gold, worked with Munk at Barrick from 1983 to 2003 and said Munk’s entrepreneurial spirit was an important aspect of the company’s growth.

To illustrate Munk’s approach, Hill recalled a story from his time working with Barrick when Munk visited the company’s Goldstrike mine in Nevada. Munk gathered the entire team together and described how every person at the site contributed to the company by doing well at their job. “He involved every single person and made them all feel equally responsible in growing the company and creating wealth,” Hill said.

“That’s what he was about: creating wealth. He wanted to spread wealth around the community and through the investment community,” Hill added. “Wealth that meant the local communities would thrive, and employees would have more security in their livelihoods; wealth that would be good for investors. For him that all stemmed from everyone at the company doing well at their job.”

As a philanthropist, Munk contributed nearly $300 million over his life to several causes and institutions. In 1997, he and his wife Melanie founded the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC) at the Toronto General Hospital. Over the next 20 years he continued to invest in the centre, culminating in a $100-million gift in September 2017.

“He gave back a staggering amount,” said Dr. Barry Rubin, the PMCC’s medical director. “He frequently told me that money was made to be given back.

“His contributions have saved the lives and impacted the health of millions of people, and he’s truly changed the way people with heart and blood vessel disease are managed.”

Rubin said Munk was happiest when he met someone on the street or in the hospital who recognized him and shared a story of how the PMCC had saved their life or that of a family member.

Rubin also remembered Munk’s courteousness. “Whether he was saying hello to the janitor or the CEO, it didn’t matter, Peter would always take his famous fedora off,” he said.

Munk also donated nearly $50 million to his alma mater, the University of Toronto, to create the Munk School of Global Affairs. In 2008, he founded the Munk Debates, an influential public policy debate series.

Munk received honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto, Concordia University, Bishop’s University and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Last year, he was among 18 global business leader included on the New York Stock Exchange Wall of Innovators.

Munk is survived by his wife Melanie and five children, Anthony, Nina, Marc-David, Natalie and Cheyne.