Peter Munk, the Canadian entrepreneur and business magnate who established Porto Montenegro, died on March 28. He was 90 years old.
Born in 1927 in Hungary, Munk and 13 family members fled to Canada in 1944, when Nazi Germany invaded. There, he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. Munk soon embarked on what would be the first of several entrepreneurial endeavors. These included Clairtone, a stereo and sound-electronics manufacturer. Munk was perhaps most famous for establishing Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest gold-mining company. Furthermore, Munk was renowned for donating hundreds of millions of dollars to medical and education causes.
In yachting, however, Munk was integral in establishing Porto Montenegro. The idea of converting a once-Communist-era naval base into a luxury marina raised eyebrows. The site was long defunct and in disrepair when he and his fellow investors puts wheels in motion in 2007. By contrast, they saw a golden opportunity. The site is on the deep-water Bay of Kotor, boasting spectacular natural beauty, too. Furthermore, and more important, they saw high demand and short supply of superyacht slips throughout the Med.
In an interview with the Luxury Collection in 2016, Munk said, “We picked an industry and target client that is always growing no matter the economic circumstances.” He added, “We then needed a government and leadership that understood the complexities that were needed for such a large project.” These, combined with the Bay of Kotor’s benefits, were keys to the success, he adds.
Success did indeed result. Formally welcoming megayachts in 2010, Porto Montenegro actually had its first visitors in 2009. The marina had 183 berths, 89 reserved for megayachts to 328 feet (100 meters). The gradual goal was 600 slips, one-quarter of them for megayachts. More so, the goal was to make Porto Montenegro a waterside tourism and residential development. A hotel, luxury apartments, restaurants, shops, a fitness and sports center, a boarding school, and more are all currently on site. Also currently, the marina has 450 berths, for yachts to 820 feet (250 meters).
While Munk sold his stake in Porto Montenegro in 2016, he still owned a superyacht. Golden Eagle, measuring 141 feet (43 meters), came into his hands in 2009. Though he’d chartered previously, she was his first ownership experience. Naturally, Golden Eagle claimed Porto Montenegro as her homeport. She was strictly private, for him to use with his large family.
Munk leaves behind five children and 14 grandchildren.
Leave a Reply