Bickell\'s parents were Rev. David Bickell and Annie Paris, who was a teacher. Born in Molesworth, near Listowel, and raised in Toronto, Bickell was their second child of four. His father died when he was six years old; his younger brother died when John was eight years old; and his older brother died in 1898 when John was 12 years old.\n', '

Bickell attended St. Andrew\'s College, where he was one of the first 100 graduates.\n', '

Bickell started his own brokerage firm, J. P. Bickell & Co., at the age of 23 and was a millionaire by 30. He sold his firm in 1919 to concentrate on his various movie and mining interests. His hiatus from the industry did not last long as on April 15, 1926 he was a senior partner in the New York brokerage firm of Thomson McKinnon. He left the firm in to take on his WWII responsibilities in late 1939.\n', '

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