Leslie Dan

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Leslie Lewis Dan
Born (1929-11-26) November 26, 1929 (age 92)
Budapest, Hungary
NationalityCanadian
Alma materLeslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
Known forFounder of Novopharm
ChildrenMichael D. Dan, Aubrey Dan, and Andrea Dan-Hytman
AwardsOrder of Canada
Order of Ontario

Leslie Lewis Dan, CM OOnt (born November 26, 1929), is a Canadian-Hungarian businessman and pharmacist. The founder of Novopharm, a successful generic pharmaceutical company which he subsequently sold to Teva Pharmaceuticals. A noted philanthropist, Dan has been awarded the prestigious Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario for his charitable efforts.

Early life[]

Born in Budapest, Dan came to Canada in 1947. As a teenage Jew, he survived the Holocaust by using false identity papers. He came to Canada in 1947 and graduated from the University of Toronto School of Pharmacy in 1954 obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree. He completed his Master of Business Administration degree in 1959. In 1960, he founded a company which distributed over-the-counter drugs.[1]

Business ventures[]

In 1965, he founded Novopharm. In 2000 when he sold the company to Israel's Teva Pharmaceuticals for an estimated $430 million, it had sales of $750 million and employed 3,000 people. He then started a new company, Viventia (formerly Novopharm Biotech), which specializes in the discovery and development of products for the treatment of cancer. He is currently the chairman.

As of April 2021, he has an estimated net worth of $1.04 billion dollars (approximately $830 million USD), making him the 91st richest person in Canada.[2]

Philanthropy[]

Dan is well known as a philanthropist. His perspective on helping others is formed out of faith in truths from the Jewish Torah and Talmud.[citation needed] From the latter, Dan has noted writings in the Bava Bathra chapters, including: "Charity is equal in importance to all other commandments combined." And, "Who gives charity in secret is greater than Moses."[3]

His donations include:

Honours[]

University of Toronto Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building

His honours include:

  • Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences (CSPS) Leadership Award in 2012 [4]
  • The University of Toronto Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building, designed by Sir Norman Foster and completed in 2006, is named in his honour.[5]
  • In 1996, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada[6] and awarded the Order of Ontario.
  • He received an honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree from Dalhousie University in 1996 and the University of British Columbia in 1995.
  • In 1997, he received the Distinguished Business Alumnus Award by the University of Toronto Joseph L. Rotman Faculty of Management.
  • Aish HaTorah's Dan Family Building is named in his honour.

Family[]

He married Judith in 1958. She died in 1995. They had three children, Dr. Michael D. Dan, Aubrey Dan, and Andrea Dan-Hytman. He married Anna in 1996. They share no children. Aubrey Dan is president of Dancap Private Equity and Andrea Dan-Hytman is co-owner of Viventia Biotech Inc.

See also[]

  • Canadians of Hungarian ancestry

References[]

  1. ^ "Leslie L. Dan, C.M., O.ONT. | Pier 21". pier21.ca. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  2. ^ December 24, CB Staff; 2015 (2015-12-24). "Canada's Richest People: Leslie Dan". Canadian Business - Your Source For Business News. Retrieved 2021-04-11.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ As reported on Charity Village 1995. Main Street, Resources & Library. Research Articles.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2013-02-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "U of T Capital Projects: Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy". University of Toronto.
  6. ^ Order of Canada citation
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