He's used to high finance, but Theo Caldwell is now ready to embark on a more epic task
The son of one of the giants of Canadian business is taking on one of the giants of Irish legend and, in the process, putting a little jig into Bay Street.Theo Caldwell, rich by most definitions, dashing by almost all -- and single, too! -- has a secret project he's been working on in his spare time. When he's not working as an investment advisor for clients in Toronto and New York or buying up stocking exchanges around the world, that is.
The chap who calls Thomas Caldwell dad -- the chairman of Caldwell Financial and a flotilla of related subsidiary companies -- has a vanquishing Irish hero in his sights. "He's written a book called Finn the Half-Great," a source told me recently.
"It's a novel about the legends of Finn McCool, and it's meant as the first instalment of a fivepart series that will recount tales of giants, monsters and magic."
Finn McCool, who was a semimythical character long before he was a bar, is said to have been the greatest leader of the Fianna, the military elite of ancient Ireland responsible for guarding the High King. He also helped to implement a code of honour upon what was an unruly band, challenging them to become models of chivalry and justice. It's even been suggested that the tales of the Fianna are the basis of the legends of the Knights of the Round Table.
His friends, Theo tells me, are impressed that he can write a 150,000-word novel while managing a business, but he says that every Caldwell man has a hobby.
"My dad rides Harleys," he says, "my brother plants trees and I write about giants."
The fair-haired lad, who hasn't yet secured a publisher for his Irish scorcher but is working on it, apparently believes in diversification when it comes to both his portfolio and his pursuits. Besides scribbling prose, the thirty-something also spent a spell in Los Angeles pursuing an acting career, and at one time also tried to buy the muddy Frank magazine. To make it into, as he then put it, a "kinder, gentler magazine." Then, not long back, he also appeared as a contestant on TV's Jeopardy!.
But, it's not all UCC reunions and Spoke Club wine-tastings for our man. He's also been playing a hand in the bonanza that the family firm has been experiencing of late due to holding in various securities exchanges around the world. According to Investment Executive, the Caldwell Growth Opportunities Trust, introduced in September, 2005, has bagged a one-year return of 28% as of March 31.
And the spirit of Finn? It remains a steady guide. "Finn the half-Great is a fairly large fellow, but his friends and enemies are larger still," Theo tells me. "Our business is replete with awesome allies and formidable foes.
Size and strength are not always enough. Finn is clever and pleasant, too."
Shinan Govani, National Post
Published: Wednesday, May 02, 2007
