The Giver
Toronto Life|September 2024
Media mogul Gary Slaight donates a lot of money$15 million to this, $30 million to that-and he's not above shaming his wealthy friends into doing the same
COURTNEY SHEA
The Giver

Your father, Allan Slaight, started in radio, and the two of you grew the empire together. Does that make you a self-made man or a nepo baby?

I think that term is hilarious, but I won't comment on it. What I will say is that I'm proud of the work we've done. I was born in Edmonton. We lived above a food store, and we had no money. My dad worked at a radio station and performed magic as a side hustle. After moving to Toronto, he bought a single radio station, and we grew it to over 50 stations. I started working for my dad in 1977, when we launched Q107.

What did the long-haired 1977 version of you think you'd be doing today?

Oh, I don't know. I went to business school at Western and hated it. After second year, I took a break and ended up on a kibbutz in Israel. All I wanted was to have a fulfilling life and to do good. That's it.

The Slaight Family Foundation just donated $30 million to dementia initiatives in Toronto. How does a massive gift like that come together?

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