George Maxwell Bell (October 13, 1911 – July 19, 1972)[1] was a Canadian newspaper publisher, race horse owner and philanthropist.

The pair joined with singer Bing Crosby to win the Irish Derby in 1965 while he and McMahon won the 1968 Queen's Plate.

A noted philanthropist, he established the Max Bell Foundation shortly before his death, which has awarded millions of dollars in grants for medical, veterinary, sporting and educational causes.

He was the son of George Melrose Bell and Edna Mae Parkin and had one brother, Gordon and two sisters, Audrey and Olive.

His father earned his fortune selling insurance and owned several newspapers and periodicals before losing much of his wealth investing in mining and oil.

[3] Bell earned a degree in commerce from Montreal's McGill University during the Great Depression while working for his father at the Calgary Albertan newspaper during his summers.

[3] After graduating in 1932, Bell moved to British Columbia where he unsuccessfully attempted to prospect for gold in the Kootenays for a time and played two seasons of senior hockey with the Kimberley Dynamiters.

In 1944 he partnered with Frank McMahon and others forming Empire Petroleum Limited, in an unsuccessful attempt to raise capital to drill a wildcat well.

[9] He sold Calvan to Petrofina in 1955 for $40 million and, while he continued to trade in oil and gas companies for several years, his focus returned to the newspaper business.

[11] Bell continued to acquire newspapers, joining with Victor Sifton, owner of the Winnipeg Free Press to purchase the Ottawa Journal in 1959.

Bell purchased the Vancouver Sun in 1963, and Toronto's The Globe and Mail in 1965, making FP Publications Canada's largest newspaper syndicate.

[7] Among acquisitions made outside the newspaper industry, Bell led a group that attempted to gain control of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1950.

[14] Among his biggest victories, Bell won the 1965 Irish Derby with the colt Meadow Court, having sold one-third shares of ownership to McMahon and Bing Crosby just prior to the race.

[19] He enjoyed playing golf and badminton,[5] and frequently sailed his yacht, Campana, throughout the area around Vancouver Island and used it to ferry politicians and businessmen to a special forum on Canadian-American relations which he organized in 1959.

[20] Bell was a supporter of organized sport at several levels and helped finance the Vancouver Canucks' entry into the National Hockey League.

Max Bell Foundation has funded charities in a variety of areas since its inception, and currently focuses its grants on health, environment, education, and democracy and civic engagement.