Biography
Victor Dahdaleh is a London-based Canadian businessman, a philanthropist with interests covering investments, manufacturing, and trading, and the owner and chairman of DADCO (and affiliated companies), a privately owned international group established in 1915 with operations and investments across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia. DADCO is recognized as a leader in the alumina industry but also holds interests across investments, trading, and manufacturing.
Although his real age is yet to be unraveled, his body stature and facial look depict that of a man in his 60s. And he is also known by his full name Victor Philip Dahdaleh.
Dahdaleh is a passionate believer in providing educational access and support to disadvantaged young people. Both through his Foundation and personally he is actively involved in numerous academic institution partnerships. Examples of these institutions include the London School of Economics, York University in Toronto, McGill University in Montreal, and St Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. In Africa, the Foundation is a donor to the Northwood African Education Trust in Ethiopia, which runs a school for orphaned and underprivileged children, it is in areas like this that his Foundation is able to contribute significantly to the development of educational access and resources.
Early Life
Victor Dahdaleh was born in Jordan and was raised in his home country Canada. He also had his education in Canada. As a child and teenager, he lived in Toronto and As an adult, he worked and lived in the largest city in Canada’s Québec province known as Montréal. He lived there for years before he relocated to London. Despite relocating from Montreal to London and Switzerland, Mr. Dahdaleh retains close and open ties to Canada.
Education
Victor had his primary and secondary education in schools located in Canada. After his high school education, he studied at one of Canada’s finest universities popularly known as McGill University which was located in Montreal, where he bagged a diploma in management in 1975, and a post-graduate business program afterward.
Career
Victor Dahdaleh was the past president of the Canada-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, frequently appearing under the Maple Leaf flag at its events. He led the administration for 5 years starting from 2004 up till 2009.
His Dadco company which he established in 1978 has been on for over 40 years and counting and has recorded great Achievements. Through his company, Dadco, he was a “gold sponsor” of the large Canada Day festivities in London’s Trafalgar Square in 2006. The events reveled in clichéd Canadiana: a Mountie dropping the puck at a street hockey tournament, Inuit carving demonstrations, First Nations dancers, Maritime fiddles, and musician Ron Sexsmith.
He is also a top donor and trustee of his alma mater McGill University in Canada. He is also the former governor of the Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science from September 1995 till date. Victor also received an honorary doctorate degree at York University in Toronto as the school’s chancellor, former Ontario finance minister Greg Sorbara, looks on.
In 2018 Dahdaleh paid $ 850 million for part of an office complex in the heart of downtown Toronto which enables him to become the owner of 50 percent of Brookfield Property Partners LP’s Bay Adelaide Centre in the city’s financial district, according to land-registry documents. The property includes two office towers that are home to tenants such as accounting firms Deloitte and KPMG and law firms Borden Ladner Gervais and Fasken Martineau.
The deal marks one of the largest office deals in the Toronto market and the biggest property transaction so far in 2018
Social Connections
Despite his relatively low public profile, Mr. Dahdaleh has moved into rarefied circles, denoting power, influence, and wealth.
Victor Dahdaleh remains an enigma despite his vast wealth and contacts in the highest of places, reveling in his Canadian roots while making and spreading his fortune around the world.
In 2009, when former U.S. President Bill Clinton accepted an honorary degree from McGill University in Montreal, it was his friend, Mr. Dahdaleh, who bestowed the ceremonial hood.
At a lunch in 2006, Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, was Mr. Dahdaleh’s guest. Mr. Blair praised the businessman’s “kindness.” He has also been a friend of Lord Mandelson, an influential former British cabinet member and life peer.
In 2005, when the Queen and Prince Philip sat at Macdonald House, home of the Canadian High Commission in London, to dine on lobster bisque and lamb and raspberry mascarpone, he was among a small group of influential Canadians seated with them. He has been photographed with Nelson Mandela and other prominent figures.
Net worth
Victor Dahdaleh’s net worth is guesstimated to be around $500M to $ 2 billion which was made from his business investments.
At least some of his wealth derived from family ties. He is the owner and chairman of Dadco, a privately owned investment, manufacturing, and trading group established in 1915 by his grandfather. Dadco has operations and investments in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia, according to his lawyer.
Philanthropists
Throughout his life, Mr. Dahdaleh has dedicated his time towards significant philanthropic activity, in addition to his committed and successful career in business. In order to recognize this passion for philanthropy, the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation was established to assist and support numerous initiatives around the world. Mr. Dahdaleh is actively involved in providing both direction and support.
The Foundation does indeed support numerous projects, and whilst there are many areas of interest the key areas the foundation focuses on are: health and wellness inclusive of multiple high-level medical research projects, educational access initiatives, and developing and strengthening closer cultural, social, and economic ties between the United Kingdom and Canada.
He was one of those who funded the research that helped in founding the asbestos cancer drug that can help cure the disease. This was done after asbestos cancer took the life of Sex Pistols manager Malcom McLaren. He funded the research through his Victor Dahdaleh Foundation alongside asthma+Lung UK.
He has since been a donor to the school and is one of nine trustees of the McGill University Trust, a registered charity that allows donors in Britain to give to the school and get British tax receipts. Due to his philanthropic nature, he was named after one of the buildings at York University (Victor Dahdaleh building)
Family
Victor Dahdaleh came from a wealthy family. His grandfather was a rich man.
Mr. Dahdaleh is a married man; he is married to Mona who is also a Canadian woman. Although we couldn’t get the exact date of his marriage, some sources said that he has been married for over 30 years now.
Scandal
The Panama Papers revealed that Victor Dahdaleh is the mystery middleman in a global corruption scandal involving the aluminum company Alcoa and the Bahraini government. His legal troubles began in 2008 when he was named in a civil suit seeking more than US$ 1 billion, filed by Aluminum Bahrain B.S.C., one of the world’s largest smelting firms. Commonly known as “Alba” and majority owned by the Bahrain royal family, the company alleged an “outrageous fraud” over a 15-year conspiracy.
The suit targeted Alcoa, the world’s largest supplier of alumina, an Alcoa official, and Mr. Dahdaleh.
“Defendants’ conspiracy succeeded in exacting hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments, which continue to accumulate to this day,” says the suit, filed in 2008.
“Pursuant to instructions on the invoices, plaintiff Alba paid the invoices by wire transfer to accounts held at Royal Bank of Canada and Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, N.Y.,” the suit says.
The civil complaint centers on a business relationship that started in 1990 but the criminal charges relate only to the time period of 2001 to 2005.
A month after the civil suit was filed, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation and the civil case was held in abeyance before statements of defense were filed.
British police said their investigation started in July 2009, with assistance from the City of London Police’s Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit, the U.S. Department of Justice, and Swiss authorities.
Mr. Dahdaleh was released on conditional police bail to appear in court on Oct. 31.
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