The Giver

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

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?