B.C. mogul donates $4M to Lions Gate Hospital

An 84-year-old business titan made a $4 million donation to North Vancouver's Lions Gate Hospital on Tuesday, and it's not the first large sum he's put back into B.C.

Djavad Mowafaghian accumulated a fortune in the contracting business in Iran and Canada, and has given $40 million of it away to various medical and educational causes in B.C. since 2004. He has also given money away in his native Iran.

He asked not to be considered a philanthropist, rather just a thankful man after staff at Lions Gate Hospital treated him following a stroke last year.

"A group of knowledgable physicians and a group of beautiful angels who work here as nurses provided me with the best care possible on this planet," he said.

Mowafaghian said he is trying to pass on his mother's teachings of kindness and generosity. He said the money he made in business belongs to the people at large — and should go back to the people.

He's already donated $15 million to build a brain research and treatment facility at UBC, and $6 million for a new wing at B.C. Children's Hospital. 

The $4-million donation at Lions Gate will go towards a new training centre for UBC medical students that will function as part of a larger centre for treating mental health and addictions.