How Canadian PM Lyin' Brian Mulroney got rich fighting apartheid

Now that Lyin’ Brian has gone to his reward, we will be endlessly harangued about his principled stand against apartheid in South Africa. And he was indeed a high-profile anti-apartheid activist. When Brian came to power, the South African Krugerrand was by far the world’s most popular investment-grade gold coin. It was one of the most important exports for the SA economy. A few years before Brian ascended the throne, Canada had introduced it’s own investment-grade gold coin, the gold maple leaf coin. It got off to a slow start. It would be a tough uphill slog to capture market share from the Krugerrand. Enter the humble electrician’s son from Baie Comeau, and his principled stand against apartheid! Mulroney was a leading figure in the drive to impose sanctions against the South African economy, including, of course, international sales of the Krugerrand. Sales of Canada’s gold Maple Leaf took off! Oddly enough, after Brian left office, he soon found himself on the board of directors of Barrick Gold, Canada’s premier gold producer! Brian advanced through the corporate governance ranks to become Chair of the Board of Directors, and if I’m not mistaken, remained a “special advisor” to the board until his passing. Isn’t it great to see such a principled politician enjoy a lucrative payday! Mind you, there were also those embarrassing ethical lapses around that Karl-Heinz chappie and his cash-stuffed envelopes… but let’s not bring that up now… RIP Mr Mulroney.