Jet-setting philanthropist Peter Munk, the 85-year-old founder of Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp., is taking a rogue approach to real estate: he’s dumping big money into condo developments at a time when Toronto’s already overflowing with high rises and other developers are backing away. Munk is using his personal wealth to help finance CD Capital, headed by Todd Cowan and Jordan Dermer, who were previously execs at another real estate company backed by Munk. The developers’ projects include, among others, the 300-unit Sixty Colborne project near St. Lawrence Market and 155 Redpath at Yonge and Eglinton, an area Dermer argues is ripe for development. Munk, meanwhile, says the city’s starry future is reason enough to invest. Hard to argue with a billion-dollar man. [Globe and Mail]
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Dear Urban Diplomat: I found $100 in the back of a cab. What should I do with it?
(Photo Courtesy of Terrance Lam)
I got into a cab a few days ago outside First Canadian Place and found a $100 bill on the floor. I quickly stuffed it into my pocket, but I’ve been feeling guilty ever since. I’m a manager at PwC, and I definitely don’t need the money as much as my cabbie probably does. I ended up spending it on overpriced martinis that night, making me an even bigger heel. What would you have done?
—Taxi Cab Confessor, Harbourfront
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Girlfriends for Hire: the rules of Toronto’s new sugar daddy economy
Olivia dates rich older men in exchange for gifts and money. She doesn’t consider it prostitution. In her mind, and in the minds of tens of thousands of other young Toronto women who have struck up similar for-profit relationships, it’s much more than a commercial exchange.
As a teen, Olivia didn’t get along with her mother, and, after dropping out of her Halifax high school, she moved out on her own and went on welfare. She discovered that her looks—bright blue eyes, perfect breasts, prairie-flat stomach—were her ticket to modelling gigs and bit parts in TV shows, but the work was sporadic and paid poorly. Two years ago, she moved to Toronto, looking for more opportunities. Now 25, she’s earning enough to pay her rent but not enough to support the lifestyle she imagined for herself.
Last year, a friend of Olivia’s told her she was seeing a man she’d met on SeekingArrangement.com, a match-making site designed to facilitate the pairing of wealthy older men with attractive young women. Over the past decade, many such websites have launched, helping women negotiate gifts, allowance, tuition, mentorship or simply a night out, in exchange for their companionship and, often, for sex. Olivia’s friend usually got a nice dinner, bottles of champagne and cash. She referred to her date as her sugar daddy and to herself as his sugar baby.
Olivia liked the idea of a rich man helping her with her career, telling her the secrets of how he became so successful, and pushing her life in the same direction. Plus, she wanted to have fun. She put her profile up on SeekingArrangement.com and, later, on WhatsYourPrice.com. The first few men she met weren’t perfect. One wouldn’t hold the door for her. Another was married. Many just wanted to pay for sex, but she eventually met a wealthy, recently divorced doctor in his early 40s who kept a small roster of sugar babies.
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This just in from the latest in the never-ending series of city rankings: Toronto has 1,765 “high-net-worth individuals,” defined as someone with at least $30 million (USD) in net assets. Real estate consultants Knight Frank also predicted the ranks of Toronto’s rich would surpass 2,300 over the next decade, though that’s still a long way away from New York, which topped the list of world cities with 7,580 ultra-wealthy residents. Toronto is currently in 20th position, which puts it ahead of Zurich, Munich, Singapore, Sydney, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Geneva, Melbourne, Frankfurt and Rome. [h/t Globe and Mail]
Farewell, penny: 10 oddly sweet articles about the coin’s demise
(Image: screenshot from Google.com)
The Royal Canadian Mint will stop distributing pennies to banks and businesses tomorrow, which means that, although the humble copper coin remains legal tender, businesses will now no longer give them as change. The day’s bewildering array of penny-centric articles suggests that Canadians have a strong attachment to the wee copper coin (as well as an awful lot of anxiety about the country’s ability to round to the nearest nickel). Below, the 10 weirdest—and yet strangely touching—send-offs.
The Sell: for an octogenarian couple, the second time downsizing is the charm
(Image of couple by Erin Leydon)
The sellers: Kay Brundage, an 89-year-old retired teacher, and Don Brundage, an 86-year-old retired OISE professor.
The property: A 1,300-square-foot two-bedroom condo near Don Mills and Lawrence, the couple’s home since they downsized 14 years ago.
The story: In the fall of 2011, the Brundages tried a month-long stay at an assisted living residence while Kay was recovering from an illness. They liked the peace of mind it offered, and by last spring they had decided to move in for good—albeit to the more gracious apartment-like building next door. Their new one-bedroom unit had a kitchen and a living room, but it was half the size of their condo—which meant sorting through a lifetime of stuff.
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Good Stuff Cheap 2013: The frugalist’s guide to designer clothes, trendy accessories and home decor
Toronto is a great place to have money. There have never been so many upscale stores, so many fancy restaurants, so many $100 dog leashes or $800 rain jackets or $25 martinis—never mind the $1,200-a-night hotel rooms and $25-million condos. But you don’t have to be a one-per-center to enjoy this city. Where’s the thrill in paying retail, anyway? It’s infinitely more satisfying to find a bargain, save some cash and be in the know, which is why we go searching, tirelessly, for the best deals in town. The results are our annual guide to buying stylish duds and cool stuff for the home without spending a fortune.
QUOTED: Rob Ford talks about his personal evolution
I’m Rob Ford. It’s going to be pretty hard to change…I don’t think I have. Some people might say ‘he has,’ but I can’t really see it.
Maple Leaf Foods CEO Michael McCain must pay $175,000 to his ex-wife every month
The lesson from the latest, almost uncomfortably intimate details to emerge from the divorce proceedings of Maple Leaf Foods CEO Michael McCain: being rich can be very complicated. In 1997, more than 15 years after Michael married his wife Christine, patriarch Wallace McCain threatened to disinherit his married children if their spouses refused to sign a contract waiving most of their claims in case of a divorce (a move Michael attributes to his father’s “unshakeable desire to pass on his wealth through generations of his bloodline, not fragmented by marital breakups”). When the couple did indeed break up in June 2011, Christine got $5 million, the family home and two cottages—a fortune to the average Joe, but a pittance compared to Michael McCain’s reported net worth of $500 million, and to Christine’s lavish monthly expenses, which included $2,600 for pilates and yoga training, $1,500 in club fees and a $13,000 clothing allowance. Lucky for Christine, the latest ruling, from Judge Susan Greer of the Ontario Superior Court, found that upholding the contract would be “unconscionable” and ordered McCain to pay $175,000 a month in spousal support until a settlement, arbitration or a trial determines appropriate long-term support. [National Post]
Pay Check: the salaries and bonuses of Toronto’s five highest-paid CEOs
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While most rankings of the super-wealthy focus on net worth, it’s hard not to also be curious about how much the not-very-average Joe earns each year. Enter the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which released its latest list of the country’s 100 highest-paid CEOs earlier this week, based on data collected for 2011. According to the CCPA, the average salary of the top 100 Canadian CEOs was $7.7 million (which, the left-leaning think tank pointed out, means they pocket the average Canadian salary of $45,448 in a little over half a day’s work). However, the five Torontonians who cracked the top 10 make considerably more than the average. We break down local bigwigs’ base salaries and mind-blowing bonuses below.
Q&A: disgraced cyclist Michael Barry explains how his doping confession saved his sanity
You recently admitted to doping while you were on Lance Armstrong’s cycling team, U.S. Postal, from 2002 to 2006. Why come clean now?
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency called and said, “We know you were involved with U.S. Postal, and we want you to tell your story and testify.” I knew it was time.
Where were you when they called?
In the car with my wife and two kids. We were driving down Bayview Avenue on our way to get something to eat.
Was it the call you’d been expecting for a decade?
On some level, yeah.
Some people think you confessed only because you were about to get caught.
I may never have been. Who knows?
When did you start doping?
In 2003. It was in an apartment in Girona, Spain, with
a teammate.
Why did you do it? Read the rest of this entry »
European racing was so fast and I wasn’t performing like I had been back home. I thought I could compete clean, but the pressure to perform was too much. I gave in.
The Maple Leafs are valuable and inefficient and have diehard fans, according to Forbes
Despite the ongoing, soul-crushing NHL lockout, Forbes magazine still published its annual look at the business of hockey this week. As usual, the Toronto Maple Leafs were ranked the most valuable team in the league, but this year marks a special milestone: the Leafs are now the first NHL franchise to be valued at $1 billion, a fortune compared to the league average of $282 million. (Though Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment bigwigs like Richard Peddie and Tom Anselmi scoffed at the figure, Forbes argues that $1 billion is reasonable if you extrapolate from the $2.05-billion sale of MLSE this year.) The magazine also ranked Leafs fans third in the league, based on their willingness to shell out $123 on average for a ticket (the highest in the NHL by 50 per cent), plus robust memorabilia sales, social media activity and television ratings. On a gloomier note, the Leafs have the worst “bang for buck” over the past seven seasons, which means the money spent on player salaries isn’t netting wins or playoff runs. Not that Torontonians needed Forbes’ number crunchers to figure that out.
Digital Fortresses: A cheat sheet to Toronto papers’ online paywalls
The Toronto Sun, home of Sue-Ann Levy, sexy bikini shots and amusing slip-ups, is the latest Toronto daily to try to mitigate waning print advertising revenue by charging for online content. The paper will erect a digital paywall next week, according to the Globe and Mail, which itself already has digital subscriptions in place. Meanwhile, the Toronto Star and National Post have both announced plans to institute walls in the New Year. Below, we break down all four papers’ plans to help you pick which to shell out for.
The Sell: a photographer finds her Annex storefront studio isn’t too pricey for a quick sale
(Image of Tynan: Liam Mogan)
The seller: Leigh Tynan, a 34-year-old portrait photographer.
The property: A semi-detached former video store on Bathurst between Bloor and Dupont, with two residential floors above it.
The story: Tynan bought the storefront in 2007 for $465,000, planning to turn it into a studio. At first, the idea seemed perfect: living and working in the same building meant a lower property tax burden and a 30-second commute. But the place needed work, so she spent $180,000 on a lengthy renovation—redoing the floors and walls, adding a striking bamboo-and-glass staircase and furnishing the place with carefully selected vintage pieces. She finished just in time for the arrival of her first child. Two and a half years later, she started thinking about having a second—and getting out of the live-work set-up for good.
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QUOTED: a diehard Toronto Maple Leafs fan on why he splurged on a $5,300 toilet
It’s part of an icon. I just thought… what a rare piece and just think of all the people that have spent time contemplating in that dressing room what lies ahead of them.
