Nelson Morgan Davis was a Canadian businessman. He owned a conglomerate of more than 50 transportation and manufacturing companies, and was one of Canada's richest people. He served as director of the

Canadian Bank of Commerce The Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank that operated from 1867 to 1961. It merged in 1961 with the Imperial Bank of Canada to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which today is one of Canada's Big Five banks of Canada, Big Five ...

, the Crown Trust Company, the

Argus Corporation The Argus Corporation was an investment holding company based in Toronto, Ontario. During the 1960s and 1970s, it was the most powerful and best known conglomerate in Canada, at one time controlling the companies making up 10 percent of all shar ...

and the

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...

Early life

He was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, to father Ernest H. Davis. He went to

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and was a member of

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

. He married Eloise White on September 6, 1930, in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

.Page 24. (1930, Aug 29). Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971) He later lived on

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

's Riverside Drive, and in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. In 1950, he created an exclusive golf course in

Box Grove, Ontario Box Grove is a unincorporated community and one of the original hamlets of Markham, Ontario. History A Middle Iroquoian settlement existed on the west bank of a tributary of the Little Rouge Creek in the fourteenth century in the area which is ...

. In 1967, he sold it to

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

for an estimated $2 million. In September 1969, his niece was kidnapped, and Davis paid $200,000 for her return.Little-known financier raised cash ransom for niece. (1969, Sep 11). Through his company, NM Davis Corp, he purchased many businesses, including Rupert E. Edwards' Canada Varnish, in February 1953.Page 14. (1953, Feb 09). Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971) His brother, Marsh Davis, ran one of his purchased trucking companies.

Properties

A 1968 directory lists some of his properties as follows: * CanVar Industries Ltd * Admiral Acceptance Ltd * Arrow Leasing Ltd * Automobile Transport Ltd * Brennan Paving Co * Carwil Transport Ltd * Central Chevrolet Toronto * Inter-city Truck Lines * The Markham Sand and Gravel Ltd * Miller Paving * North York Chevrolet * Parkwood Motors * Trans-Canada Highway Express Ltd * Atlantic Distributing * Dayton Rubber * Great Lakes Supply * Industrial Tankers Ltd * Orange Crush Bottlers

Estate

When Nelson Davis died in 1979 he left his estate worth tens of millions of dollars to his son, Glen Davis. Glen donated to numerous conservation and philanthropic organizations until he was murdered, on May 18, 2007. Davis was gunned down in the underground parking lot of an office building at Mt. Pleasant and Eglinton in Toronto. The "hit" was ordered and paid for by Davis's cousin, Marshall Ross, who believed that he would be named as a beneficiary in Davis's will; the funds received would be used to pay off Ross's massive debts, and protect his vaunted lifestyle. Shortly after the murder, Davis's company sued Ross for repayment of an earlier loan. The court decided in the company's favour, but no money has been repaid. Marshall Ross remains in federal prison, sentenced to life after pleading guilty to masterminding Davis's murder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Nelson Morgan Businesspeople from Cleveland 1979 deaths Cornell University alumni