Ego-driven. Autocratic. Elusive. Controversial. A rags-to-riches story. His acquaintances and the media have used many adjectives to describe Frank Stronach and his career over his 77 years.

With his move for Opel, Frank Stronach has attempted to fulfil his long-standing ambition of making not just auto parts, but the cars themselves. (Canadian Press)

But the chapter still to be written is whether he will succeed in his quest to design and build his own cars. On Thursday, the General Motors board accepted a deal that, once the details have been worked out, will sell a controlling stake in Opel to Stronach's Magna International.

Just how passionately he pursues that quest — and for how long — was exemplified on a trade mission to Europe in 1999, when Stronach let down his guard and was caught on a television camera's open microphone, button-holing then prime minister Jean Chrétien on the advantages of a Canadian-based automaker.

Having his Magna International Inc. succeed in its bid to win control of Opel would be "the ultimate ego shot for Frank," according to his biographer, Wayne Lilley, the author of Magna Cum Laude.

Arriving in Canada in 1955 with $50 in his pocket, the young Austrian immigrant started out washing dishes until he could set up a small tool-and-die shop two years later. Over the years, he built Magna into a powerhouse but not without setbacks.

'The ultimate ego shot for Frank' —Wayne Lilley, author

It took on too much debt in the early 1990s and was forced to sell some assets. Since then, Stronach has kept borrowing tightly controlled to make the company one of the most financially sound companies in the auto industry, with annual revenue of more than $20 billion US.

Magna is now one of the biggest auto parts makers in the world, with 71,000 employees, and Stronach can pay himself a salary of more than $54 million.

Described as elusive and controversial, even a genius, Stronach has made bold ventures into horse racing, magazine publishing, even energy drinks.

Magna International chairman Frank Stronach, shown at the company's annual general meeting in 2007, has been dogged by ill-advised investments into racetracks. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Some have been successes. Others have been failures, such as his multimillion-dollar investments in racetracks — which he spun off as a separate company — now in court protection from creditors.

Stronach has many passions. He owns more than 1,000 thoroughbred horses and he and his daughter Belinda have both dabbled in politics.

Stronach was an unsuccessful federal Liberal candidate in the 1988 election in the Toronto-area riding of York-Simcoe. Belinda Stronach was an MP from 2004 to 2008, first as a Conservative and later crossing the floor to become a Liberal. She served in Paul Martin's cabinet in 2005 and 2006.

The Magna system

Acquaintances have described Stronach as an autocrat in the boardroom but he hasn't been entirely an autocrat in labour relations. The company has become renown for the quality of auto parts, in part because of what's known as the Magna system.

That means sharing profits with employees and listening to suggestions for improvements. There's even a confidential way to air grievances and point out bad practices. Magna remained non-union for years and even when the Canadian Autoworkers did organize more than 40 of its plants, it was under an agreement that banned strikes in favour of binding arbitration.

Succeeding in his quest would turn Magna into the first major Canadian-owned auto maker in almost a century.

That's not counting the ill-fated Bricklin venture in the 1970s, when the New Brunswick government poured money into a venture that produced fewer than 3,000 gull-winged sports cars. Other than that, there hasn't been a Canadian-based automaker since the McLaughlin Brothers, who sold out to GM in 1918.