Fight on for piece of Ken Hill’s fortune

When Ken Hill, the face of one of the largest tobacco exporters in Canada, died in Florida in 2021, he left millions in property, businesses and bank accounts.

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During his life, Hill was a frequent court scrapper, fighting various governments about excise taxes and business licenses and fighting a former partner in court, saying the government wasn’t entitled to know his income.

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Now in his death, Hill’s many children and their mothers are fighting to find out just how much his estate is worth.

According to a court decision at the end of 2023 that involved at least a dozen lawyers, the unmarried Hill left nine children: three adult children; one minor, who has since become an adult; and five minors.

A simple will just months before his death, says the bulk of Hill’s estate was to go to his oldest sons: Ryan Burnham, as executor, with directions to share half of the proceeds from all the land and businesses with Joshua Hill. There are bequests to most of the other children.

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But that will has been called “suspicious” and is part of a major court challenge that will be heard in a September trial that involves all the other children and their mothers, plus a former spouse.

Ken Hill had lots of money and was well-known in the Six Nations community for his massive house, car collection and boats, along with his generosity.

He was a co-founder of Grand River Enterprises and owner or part of dozens of other area businesses.

But a court case ahead of the will challenge is trying to get GRE – which pays its shareholders like Hill nontaxable personal income – to provide information about just how much Hill’s 12.4 per cent stake in the company is worth.

So far, the most GRE has provided is that Hill was paid $2 million in each of 2017, 2018, and 2019; $4 million in 2020 and $7 million in 2021.

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The company has balked at providing specific financial information that has always been kept secret due to concerns competitors could gain insight into GRE’s market share, business volume, production costs and profit margins.

GRE president Steve Williams told the court disclosure of the company finances would be “detrimental and prejudicial to GRE and has never been publicly disclosed except to shareholders”. Even then, copies aren’t provided, he said.

With the rest of Hill’s holdings worth about $56.3 million, the children and their mothers say the GRE shares “far exceed” the other assets.

The GRE shareholders deny it.

“This conundrum cannot, of course, be resolved without knowing the value of the GRE shares,” ruled Superior Court Justice Cory Gilmore.

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In February 2023, Gilmore ordered GRE to produce its financials within 30 days, promising “a degree of confidentiality” due to the company concerns. GRE declined.

In her December ruling, Gilmore has again ordered GRE to cough up details saying the value of the shares is “at the very heart of the will challenge” and “essential” to understand the value of Hill’s estate.

The judge again offered an order that would keep the details confidential during trial and said GRE could seek a sealing order afterwards.

Gilmore also addressed some issues that will rise in the will challenge.

Hill’s last will was dated Sept. 10, 2020, just four months before his death.

It names son Ryan Burnham as the executor and awards $5 million each to five of the children, $3 million to one and nothing to an adult daughter.

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He gives his GRE shares and “all the rest of my property and land” to Burnham, but orders him to give his Joshua Hill 50 per cent of whatever money comes from the use or sale of them.

The children and mothers who are fighting that will say it’s suspicious in its simplicity given Hill’s “vast wealth and holdings” and the fact it wasn’t witnessed.

They also question how it was found and petitioned the court to force testimony from Hill’s friend who found the will and Hill’s lawyer.

According to his autopsy report, Hill died at 62 while in Florida of blood clot “associated with COVID”. That infection was on top of his hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

How much was Ken Hill really worth?

A Toronto Life article in 2019 reported that one former partner, Brittany Beaver, who had been showered with shopping trips worth a reported $70,000, a birthday dinner valued at $75,000 and an Atlantis stay in “the Michael Jackson suite” that cost $100,000, thought Hill was worth “billions.”

But, in her court case, she showed texts from Hill saying he had “nothin’ in my name”. His financial disclosure in that case showed $2.1 million from GRE in 2015 and “$0.00” as the value of his Six Nations properties and business interests.

He said the value of his car collection was to be determined.

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@EXPSGamble

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