Location

Born in Hyderabad, India, Prem Watsa attended public school in Hyderabad before enrolling at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras. Upon completion of his studies in Madras, Watsa achieved a degree in chemical engineering and subsequently moved abroad to Canada where he resided in London, Ontario. He attended the University of Western Ontario where he went to the Richard Ivey School of Business and graduated with an MBA.

Watsa stayed in Canada where he started working for an insurance company. In 1985 the businessman made the firm decision to remain in the country when he took over a Canadian trucking insurance company on the verge of being bankrupt. Through his guidance, the company became what is known today as Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., reaching annual revenues of over US$9 billion.

Remarkable Investments

With a corporate objective of achieving high rates of return on investment capital to build long-term shareholder value, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is focused on shared ownership and large incentives across the group. As part of Watsa’s investment methodology, he has reiterated that emerging markets should not be ignored and India has prime investment potential, with an annual GDP growth rate of 6.8%.

According to Watsa, investing in emerging markets (like other prominent investors do) has a great advantage over established markets because of the massive speed in which their economies are growing. Current traded stocks advocated by Prem Watsa include Micron Technology, Occidental Petroleum Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Vanguard S&P, Orla Mining Ltd, Blackberry Ltd, Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc, and Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. Although his $1.42 billion portfolio is diverse, divided amongst 57 listings, Micron Technology and Occidental Petroleum Corp are worth half the portfolio’s value. 

In the News

In 2023 Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. announced its most successful year to date, in a report to shareholders.. Sharing his insights, Watsa commented, “2023 was the best year in our history with net earnings of US$4.4 billion, producing record adjusted operating income of US$3.9 billion (or operating income of US$5.7 billion including the benefit of discounting, net of a risk adjustment on claims) from our property and casualty insurance and reinsurance operations, reflecting records achieved in our core underwriting performance, interest and dividends of US$1.7 billion, and increased favorable results from profit of associates.”

Though Watsa announced his decision to step down to make room for his son Benjamin Watsa, it has been reported that he may still have a seat on the board.
Watsa has also been quoted crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his friendly policies regarding investments. Speaking to the Economic Times of India, Watsa said, “Investors feel that with Mr Modi there we can trust the economy will continue to do well, that there will be business friendly policies and no taxes that are inappropriately put in and that kind of stuff.”