Sir Christopher Ondaatje, philanthropist and Olympian, dies at 93

Sir Christopher Ondaatje, the Sri Lankan‑born Canadian‑English businessman, adventurer and bobsleigh Olympian, died on 20 July 2026 in the Bahamas at the age of 93. He built a fortune after emigrating to Canada in 1956, co‑founding the brokerage Loewen Ondaatje McCutcheon and later establishing the Pagurian Press publishing house. Ondaatje was a noted philanthropist, endowing galleries at the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Chester Playhouse, among others, and was knighted in 2003.

His brother is the Booker Prize‑winning novelist Michael Ondaatje. Ondaatje also represented Canada in the four‑man bobsleigh at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympics. He is remembered for his contributions to the arts, exploration of the Nile source, and extensive charitable giving.