On 28 March 2018, Barrick Gold Corp. (Barrick) announced that its Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Peter Munk, passed away peacefully in Toronto, surrounded by his family at the age of 90 years old.
Munk founded Barrick in 1983 and established it as the world’s largest gold mining company in less than twenty-five years. He did so by leading a small team of partners who trusted one another implicitly and who together balanced boldness and prudence in the pursuit of fierce entrepreneurial ambitions.
Munk received numerous awards and honors, including honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto, Concordia University, Bishop’s University, and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. In 2008, he was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor, limited to no more than 165 living Canadians at any one time.
Munk is survived by his wife of forty-five years, Melanie, by his five children and by his fourteen grandchildren.