U of T honors Barrick Gold’s Peter Munk

The University of Toronto has bestowed an honorary degree on renowned mining executive Peter Munk.

The chairman and chief executive officer of Barrick Gold was awarded an honorary doctorate of law during a ceremony for graduates receiving bachelor of applied science and engineering degrees.

Munk graduated from U of T in 1952 with a degree in electrical engineering.

He is best known as the founder of Barrick Gold (formerly American Barrick Resources), one of the world’s largest gold mining companies. He also founded Horsham, a management firm which last year acquired a 48% interest in Trizec, North America’s largest public real estate company.

Prior to founding Barrick and Horsham, Munk was chairman and chief executive officer of Southern Pacific Hotel, the largest hotel and resort chain in Australia in the 1970s.