In 2024 he was arrested by Peel Regional Police and charged with 13 offenses, including rape, indecent assault on a female, eight counts of sexual assault and one of forcible confinement, involving 10 alleged victims.[4][5][6][7] Police allege that the sexual assaults spanned from the 1980s to 2023.[8][9] In October 2024, Magna International conducted its own records review responding to Peel Regional Police. His counsel, Brian Greenspan, however, stated that Stronach denied all the accusations in at least 18 pending sexual assaultcomplaints.[10]
Early life and family
Of Croatian heritage he was born as Franz Strohsack in Kleinsemmering, Styria, Austria, to working-class parents.[11][12]
He married Elfriede Sallmutter, a fellow Austrian. She died in Canada on March 25, 2024 at the age of 80.[13] They have two children: Belinda Stronach, a former Liberal (and previously Conservative) MP and former CEO of Magna, and Andrew Stronach, who is involved in Thoroughbred horse racing, via the Adena Springs Farms breeding operations. His grandchildren include electronic musician Frank Walker.
Business career
In 1956, Stronach started his first business, Multimatic Investments Ltd., in the old manufacturing district of Toronto. In 1969, his firm acquired its first automotive parts contract and merged with Magna Electronics. In 1973, the name was converted from Multimatic Investments Ltd to Magna International Ltd.
Stronach, who is currently[when?] the non-executive chairman of Magna International, holds multiple-voting shares of the company, which gives him majority voting power over issues brought to shareholder vote. Although he controls the voting power among Magna's shareholders, Stronach owns only 4% of Magna's equity. His pay packages over the past few years have been between $30 and 50 million CAD. [citation needed] In October 2018, he sued the Stronach Group.[14]
On 1 October 2018, he and his wife filed a lawsuit against their daughter Belinda, their grandchildren Nicole and Frank Walker, and Alon Ossip for failure to honour commitments regarding the management of The Stronach Group (TSG), from which Frank Stronach resigned as trustee in 2013 when he ran for office in Austria.[4] The settlement to the lawsuit was announced on 13 August 2020. As part of the settlement, Frank and Elfriede will assume full control and ownership of a stallion and breeding business, all farm operations in North America, and all European assets. Belinda Stronach retains full control of The Stronach Group's horse racing, gaming, real estate and related assets.[15]
Other ventures by Stronach over the years include the "As Prime Minister, I Would…" symposium, the Fair Enterprise Institute think tank, the business magazine Vista, Frank's Energy Drink, and the beef ranch operations of Adena Farms.[16][17]
Thoroughbred horse racing
In 2011, Stronach along with his daughter Belinda Stronach, founded The Stronach Group, a horse racing, entertainment and pari-mutuel wagering technology company. The Stronach Group horse racing industry brands include; Santa Anita Park, "The Great Race Place"; Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness Stakes; Gulfstream Park, one of Florida's entertainment destination centers, and home to the $16-million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, the world's richest Thoroughbred horse race; Laurel Park; Golden Gate Fields; Portland Meadows; and Rosecroft Raceway. The Stronach Group is in pari-mutuel technology through its subsidiaries AmTote and Xpressbet and is a distributor of horse racing content to audiences through Monarch Content Management. A settlement to the lawsuit launched by Stronach on 1 October 2018, was announced on 13 August 2020. As part of the settlement, Stronach assumes full control and ownership of a stallion and breeding business, all farm operations in North America, and all European assets while Belinda Stronach retains full control of The Stronach Group's horse racing, gaming, real estate and related assets. Stronach no longer plays a role in The Stronach Group.[15]
In 2011, Stronach entered Austrian politics, proposing the establishment of a new political party: a "Citizens' Alliance" advocating tax, health, and education reform.[18] In November 2011, he called for an 'intellectual revolution' in Austria, suggesting that he would be willing to fund a student-led political party.[19]
Stronach's plans to form a new party gained prominence in 2012. He called for a flat tax of 20%, a reduction in bureaucracy by 10% over five years, and a balanced budget.[20] Stronach argued that Austria should stay in the EU, but that the euro was a 'monstrosity'.[21]
On 6 September 2005, Stronach announced that he and Magna International were committing $2 million to start a model community[29] for people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.[30] The Toronto Star reported that "Magna Entertainment Corp.[31] (a gambling and racing business[32] once the world’s largest owner of race tracks[33]) is [currently] providing housing for about 260 evacuees from the New Orleans area at a racetrack training facility in Palm Beach County, Florida and will move them to a new community in November. Auto-parts giant Magna International Inc. and MEC are scouting for about 500 to 1,000 acres (2 to 4km2) in an area of Baton Rouge in Louisiana to set up trailers and infrastructure. "[W]e would like to build a small community where we would try to be sponsors for the next five to seven years", Stronach said in an interview with The Star.[34]
Belinda Caroline Stronach is a Canadian businesswoman and philanthropist, and formerly a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the floor to join the Liberals. From May 17, 2005, to February 6, 2006, Stronach was the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal in the government of Paul Martin. After leaving politics, she served as the executive vice-chairman of Magna International, Canada's largest automotive parts manufacturer, until December 31, 2010.
Magna International Inc. is a Canadian parts manufacturer for automakers. It is one of the largest companies in Canada and was recognized on the 2020 Forbes Global 2000. The company is the largest automobile parts manufacturer in North America by sales of original equipment parts; it has ranked consistently in the Fortune Global 500 list for 20 years in a row since 2001. It produces automotive systems, assemblies, modules, and components, which are supplied to General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, as well as BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Toyota, Tesla, and Tata Motors, among others.
The Alliance for the Future of Austria is a right-wing populist, national conservative political party in Austria.
Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is 1+1⁄8 miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades until returning to the "Laurel Park" designation in 1994.
Stronach Group, doing business as 1/ST, is an entertainment and real estate company in North America with thoroughbred horse racing and parimutuel gambling at the core.
Peter Westenthaler is an Austrian politician. He assumed his mother's maiden name Westenthaler instead of his former surname Hojač (Czech). A member of Jörg Haider's Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) up to the so-called "Knittelfeld Putsch" of 2002, he then worked for Frank Stronach's Magna Steyr, and in June 2006 was elected chairman of the newly founded Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ).
David E. Hofmans was an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. Born and raised in Los Angeles, when he was a boy his father brought him to watch horse racing at area tracks. While a student at Pasadena City College, he became friends with Gary Jones, the son of a horse trainer and a future trainer himself. Hofmans began learning the business as a groom and hot walker for Jones' father.
The Sovereign Award for Outstanding Breeder is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top breeder whose horse(s) have competed in Thoroughbred races in Canada during the year.
Red Bullet is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2000 Preakness Stakes.
Stronach Stables is the North American racing arm of Thoroughbred horse racing owner and breeder, Frank Stronach, who also owns the horse breeding operation Adena Springs. Stronach is also the CEO of the Stronach Group which owns racetracks that include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park
Harlem Rocker is a Grade I winning Canadian thoroughbred racehorse.
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 28 September 2008 to elect the 24th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The snap election was called after Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) withdrew from the ruling grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) in July. Due to dissatisfaction with the governing parties, the opposition and minor parties were expected to make significant gains. Opinion polling indicated that up to seven parties could potentially win seats.
Adena Springs Ranch is the former name of a 30,000-acre cattle ranch in Florida's Marion County now known as Sleepy Creek Ranch Lands. Adena Ranches is a related cattle ranch property in Levy County. Both are owned by Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach.
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 29 September 2013 to elect the 25th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament.
The Team Stronach for Austria was a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in Austria founded by and named after Austrian-Canadian businessman Frank Stronach. It was dissolved in August 2017.
The 2013 Carinthian state election was held on 3 March 2013 to elect the members of the Landtag of Carinthia.
The 2014 European Parliament election in Austria was held on 25 May 2014 in Austria. As a result of the Lisbon Treaty Austria held 19 seats in the European Parliament, but with Croatia joining the Union in 2013, Austria's allocation was reduced to 18 seats.
Adena Springs is a Thoroughbred horse breeding operation owned by Frank Stronach and his family. The main farm is located in Paris, Kentucky, with satellite locations in Florida and Ontario, Canada. Adena Springs has won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder eight times, one of which was Stronach winning the award in his own name. Adena Springs has won the Canadian Sovereign Award for Outstanding Breeder eight times, plus four earlier wins under Stronach's own name.
Stronach is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Frank Walker is a Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He is most noted for his single "Only When It Rains", a collaboration with Astrid S which was a Juno Award nominee for Dance Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2020.
↑ "Full Text of All Articles". www.berkeleydailyplanet.com The Berkeley Daily Planet. Retrieved 27 October 2024. Golden Gate Fields Auction April 3 By Richard Brenneman Wednesday March 18, 2009 - 07:09:00 PM
↑ "Redirect". Thestar.com Toronto Star. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.[dead link]
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