Max Bell

Max Bell

George Maxwell "Max" Bell (October 13, 1912 – July 19, 1972) was a Canadian newspaper publisher, race horse owner and philanthropist. He was best known as the co-founder of FP Publications, Canada's largest newspaper syndicate in the 1960s. He built his newspaper empire after inheriting the Calgary Albertan, and its $500,000 debt, from his father in 1936. He repaid debt by 1945 and proceeded to purchase papers across the country, including the Ottawa Journal and the Globe and Mail. Much of Bell's fortune was built on Alberta's burgeoning oil and gas industry. He formed several companies in the late 1940s that came to be worth millions of dollars when sold.

Bell was a long time owner of thoroughbred race horses. He partnered with Frank McMahon to form two stables that won races across Canada, the United States and Europe. The pair joined with singer Bing Crosby to win the Irish Derby in 1965 while he and McMahon won the 1968 Queen's Plate. Bell was a part owner of several race tracks, including Balmoral Park, of which he became the first Canadian president. A noted philanthropist, he established the Max Bell Foundation shortly before his death, which has awarded millions of dollars in grants for medical, veterinary, sporting and educational causes.