Retiring Peter Munk Says Glencore Xstrata's Boss Will 'Eat Them All'

Legendary founder and former chairman of Barrick Gold Corp. Peter Munk knows a thing or two about mining for precious resources. And earlier this week he showed he can be a resource for precious quotes when he said that Glencore Xstrata chief Ivan Glasenberg will “eat them all.”

Munk, 86, who recently retired as head of Barrick Gold, acknowledges that he’s good friends with Glasenberg and likes that the Glencore boss is willing to take on global mining giants Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Vale SA.

“He’s taken Xstrata, he’s now very close to the BHP Billitons, he’s going to eat them all,” Munk said, according to Sotuh Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper.

Munk says he enjoys seeing the aggressiveness and esprit de corps Glasenberg has taken while heading Glencore Xstrata. Munk says risk-taking is essential to expand and survive in mining, as reported in the Mail & Guardian.

Glasenberg, who led Glencore’s all-share takeover of Xstrata last year for $29 billion, eventually forcing out Xstrata CEO Mick Davis, attended Munk’s farewell dinner from Barrick Gold this past week at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Toronto.

Munk built Barrick, which he founded in 1983, into the world’s largest gold producer. No mining company in the past 25 years has generated the revenue that Barrick has been able to, according to Munk. The gold mining company is active in 27 countries and produces millions of ounces a year.

But Munk is more than just a successful businessman. He’s a husband and father of five children, a former Alpine skier, a developer of a super yacht harbor in south Florida, and a philanthropist.

In 1992, the Peter Munk Charitable Foundation was founded and has since disbursed approximately $100 million to a variety of organizations that work to improve the health, learning and international reputation of Canadians.

Munk has donated $37 million to Toronto General Hospital, the largest gift ever made to a Canadian medical institution. The donation supported the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, which Munk helped create with a $6 million donation to the hospital in 1997. He is also a major donor to the University of Toronto, to which he has donated $50.9 million to establish the Munk School of Global Affairs. The foundation also created the Munk Debates. 

According to reports, during the shareholders’ meeting this past week, the octogenarian closed his speech, stating “you could take Munk out of Barrick, you can't take Barrick out of Munk.”