Children David S. Willmot Spouse Ivy Willmot Died January 31, 1994 | Role Businessman Name Donald Willmot | |
Occupation Businessman
Philanthropist, Board member of Anthes Imperial Co. Ltd.
Molson Industries, Ltd.
Ontario Jockey Club Honors Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1991) Political party Progressive Conservative Party of Canada | ||
Donald Gilpin "Bud" Willmot (1916 - January 31, 1994) was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and owner of the Kinghaven Farms thoroughbred horse racing stable.
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Business career
Willmot was the President and CEO of Anthes Imperial Co. Ltd., a diversified Canadian public company he joined in 1949 that owned a number of businesses ,including those involved in construction equipment rental, steel materials, office furniture and supplies, and public warehousing. The company would be acquired by Molson Industries, Ltd. in 1968. Willmot was appointed Chairman of Molson and oversaw a series of successful acquisitions in the early 1970s.
In his 1975 landmark book, The Canadian Establishment, author Peter Newman quoted (p. 145) Willmot's opposition to the Government of Canada's plan to create the Canada Pension Plan, stating that it was a threat to Canada's free enterprise system.
Thoroughbred racing
In 1973, he became a founding member of the Jockey Club of Canada and a member of its Board of Trustees. He was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1991. He would later become a member of The Jockey Club in the United States. In 1984, Willmot lost out in the bidding to Jack Kent Cooke in an attempt to buy the prestigious Elmendorf Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, from the estate of Maxwell H. Gluck. Although planning to remain in racing, on November 7, 1988, Kinghaven held a dispersal sale of its breeding stock.
In 1989, he was given an honorary Doctor of Laws from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. He was a benefactor to a number of charities, including Brock University that annually awards the "Dr. D.G (Bud) Willmot Scholarship in Business." Each fall and spring, the university conducts the "Willmot Distinguished Lecture Series."
After battling cancer for six months, Willmot died on January 31, 1994. Two days later, his widow, Ivy Willmot, also died of cancer.