Philanthropist Walter Schroeder’s $400-million ‘experiment’ to end pain

Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.HomeHigh Net WorthPhilanthropist Walter Schroeder's $400-million 'experiment' to end pain'I grew up in an environment where if you had something in abundance, you shared it, and if somebody needed help, you helped'Last updated 7 minutes ago Walter Schroeder envisions as many as 300,000 patients annually accessing the new Schroeder Ambulatory Centre in Richmond Hill. Photo by Peter J Thompson/PostmediaWe independently select everything we recommend. Buying through us may earn us a commission, which supports our work.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountWalter Schroeder grew up poor in the poorest part of Winnipeg, an area that in the 1940s was hemmed in by a couple of railway lines. His parents were German-speaking Mennonites from Ukraine and they had jobs people do to make ends meet.His mom cleaned houses for wealthy folks, his father was a school caretaker and young Walter had a paper route that delivered him no great joy in the depths of Manitoba winters, but did put a few bucks in his pocket that otherwise would not have been there.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Money was tight, but his parents were rich in wisdom and taught their son to be frugal, work hard, family life was central to a good life and that you should be generous with whatever you have even if you don’t have much to give.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againTheir now 84-year-old son took those lessons to heart. For example, Schroeder owns a 1981 Cadillac since why spend money on a new car when the old one still works? He reuses his tea bags and he is not inclined to splurge on expensive lunches when a tuna fish sandwich on white bread will do. Philanthropist and DBRS founder Walter Schroeder at one of the pre op and post op recovery suites at the newly built Schroeder Ambulatory Centre in Richmond Hill of which he funded the non-profit centre completely on his own. Photo by Peter J Thompson/PostmediaHis frugality, however, does have limits, particularly when married with his generosity.The poor kid from Winnipeg grew up to be the very rich and successful founder of Dominion Bond Rating Services, now known as Morningstar DBRS, a credit rating agency that he and his wife Maria started from scratch in 1976, grew globally, owned outright and sold to private equity for reportedly more than US$500 million some 40 years later.Ever since the 2015 sale, Schroeder has been giving away money at a furious clip, a spending spree that includes a brand-new, low-radiation-dose, $4-million CT scanner at the Schroeder Ambulatory Centre just north of Toronto. There was another new CT scanner in a nearby room, plus a couple new MRI machines, eight gleaming operating theatres, a coffee shop and free parking behind the non-profit’s seven-storey building, all paid for entirely by its namesake to the tune of $400 million and counting.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.“When we sold DBRS, we asked ourselves, ‘What are we going to do with all this money?’” he said. “We thought deeply about it, and the best thing we can do is take a person who is in physical pain and lessen their pain, and the second-best thing we can do is improve the mobility of someone having trouble getting from A to B.”Schroeder has no trouble getting from A to B, doesn’t suffer any joint pain and neither does Maria. He sticks to a daily stretching regimen and he walks prolifically, including around the halls of the new health-care centre, where one might find him sizing up a new CT scanner with obvious delight. Walter Schroeder stands with the Philips C Arm Angio Suite at the Schroeder Ambulatory Centre in Richmond Hill. Photo by Peter J Thompson/PostmediaHe gets emotional when he speaks of people in pain and he has tackled the problem of improving people’s lives with an entrepreneur’s impatience, backed by a philanthropist’s bank account.“I don’t just give money; I actually do it,” he said. “I am pretty hands-on and I think I can do a better job spending money than most.”Horror stories abound of Canadians creaking around on bad knees and ruined hips as they wait to see a specialist before waiting again to have replacement surgery. Schroeder’s ambition, one endorsed by the Ontario government, is to attack hospital waitlists by specializing in achy knees and hips as a starter and ultimately deal in all manner of joint pain.This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Procedures at the centre will be covered by public health insurance and whatever money comes in will be reinvested in the facility. Should all go according to plan, Schroeder, who doesn’t stand to make a dime despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars, envisions as many as 300,000 patients annually accessing the facility that officially opens in October. Walter Schroeder gets emotional when he speaks of people in pain, a problem he tackles with a philanthropist’s bank account. Photo by Peter J Thompson/Postmedia“We have asked the government to look at us as an experiment,” he said. “We don’t want to steal patients from the hospitals; we want, with sincerity, to help.”Given all he has on his plate, it is not surprising to learn Schroeder “has no time for golf.” That is not to say he’s a killjoy. He loves “jukebox music” and songs that tell stories, which is why there’s a good chance you might find him in New York when he’s not absorbed by the goings-on at the centre and the $100 million or so he has donated to other causes such as education, the arts and health care over the years.Schroeder is involved in building a new theatre in the Big Apple and has some of Leonard Cohen’s backing musicians lined up for a show he hopes to produce honouring the Canadian poet/musician’s legacy, something he has already been doing with a Gordon Lightfoot cover band. He also has something in the works with crooner Paul Anka.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.“Music is the fun stuff for me,” he said. Eight operating theatres, free parking and even a coffee shop were all paid for entirely by Walter Schroeder to the tune of $400 million and counting. Photo by Peter J Thompson/PostmediaOf course, being an old numbers guy, he keeps an eye on the duller stuff, too, such as the state of Canada’s finances. The country is about $1.5 trillion in debt, according to Statistics Canada, which does not include provincial debt. In short, fiscal prudence seems to be in short supply in the corridors of power.Schroeder generally doesn’t pick sides in politics, but he will say, to paraphrase, that Justin Trudeau was the worst possible thing that could have ever happened to the national debt, and the only Canadian politicians who have had their fiscal acts together in recent memory were Jean Chretien and Paul Martin.Nowadays, even Conservatives are inclined to rack up deficits, he said, since trying to behave responsibly with money is a surefire way not to get yourself elected. As for the future, he said Canada, with its abundance of resources, should retain its AAA credit rating, but look out if our oil ever runs dry or appetites for it decrease.“Oil and gas are carrying the budget, and if that ever ends, in time, Canada is going to have a major problem,” he said.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Growing up in the poorest part of Winnipeg, money was tight, but Walter Schroeder’s parents, rich in wisdom, taught him to be generous with whatever you have, and he took that lesson to heart. Photo by Peter J Thompson/PostmediaSchroeder has lived the bulk of his years fearful of debt, which he said can be a “killer” should the economy go south. That’s why he has not borrowed a single penny from a bank to pay for the new centre; it’s “all me,” he said.He and Maria as newlyweds did borrow $5,000 from a relative — which they subsequently paid back — that they partially used to buy a red 1967 Volkswagen Beetle to tool around Europe for a year. They were driving the VW from Toronto to Montreal with their two young sons in the back when they sketched out a business plan for what would become DBRS.Schroeder was at the wheel as he talked things out, while Maria took notes. They were a team and they still are. His advice to young people is to live within their means. As for his means, the plan is to keep giving it away.“I grew up in an environment where if you had something in abundance, you shared it, and if somebody needed help, you helped,” he said.We apologize, but this video has failed to load.This advertisement has not loaded yet.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.