Indian-Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa’s son, Ben, is slated to succeed his father in future as the chairman of Fairfax Financial Holdings, according to a book titled The Fairfax Way, a draft of which was shared with ET prior to release.
Indian-Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa’s son, Ben, is slated to succeed his father in future as the chairman of Fairfax Financial Holdings, according to a book titled The Fairfax Way, a draft of which was shared with ET prior to release.
Toronto-based Fairfax, founded in 1985 by Watsa Senior as a small insurance operation, has assets of $100 billion, with a sizeable India exposure.
Watsa has opened up about his succession plan for the first time in the book. At 75 years of age, he is steering the company through one of its most promising phases. The Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Fairfax’s shares have quadrupled in value since October 2022.
Watsa has often been compared with Warren Buffet for his investing acumen. Though Fairfax is not a Berkshire Hathaway in size, its market value of $35 billion compares well with some of the largest insurance and private equity companies listed in US. The company has ploughed $7 billion into India.
Ben Watsa, 46, has followed in his father’s footsteps by taking up value investing as his profession. He runs a fund management company, Marval Capital, that invests exclusively in Indian stocks.
The Fairfax Way, published by Penguin Random House, pieces together interviews with top executives of the group and people from Watsa’s close-knit business circles. The book traces Watsa’s entrepreneurial journey in Canada and his buildout of a transcontinental insurance empire that earned its stripes through a stellar investment track record.
According to the book, Watsa confirmed to the author, David Thomas, the plan for Ben to be the company’s future chairman. “I have absolutely no plans to step away from the company, but it’s important that shareholders and the company know there is a plan for continuity, and to promote the culture of the ‘Fairfax way.’ It’s not like I will be ruling from the grave, but I will die knowing the culture will continue to flourish and the companies will never be sold,” the draft quotes Watsa as saying.
Hyderabad-born Watsa, who emigrated to Canada in the 1970s, is among a rare breed of Indians to have made a mark in the global investment management industry.
Watsa has been extremely bullish on India as demonstrated by Fairfax’s investment portfolio in the country. Apart from being the controlling shareholder of Bengaluru International Airport, Fairfax also owns several other companies such as GoDigit Insurance, Thomas Cook India, Quess Corp and CSB Bank.
It is also seen as a potential buyer for IDBI Bank that the government is looking to divest.
In the book, Watsa says his decision to move to Canada was dictated by his father, an educator who served as principal of the prestigious Hyderabad Public School. Its alumni include Satya Nadella, Ajay Banga and Shantanu Narayen. Watsa himself was a student there. Watsa’s elder brother had moved to Canada and his father was keen that he follow him. “I had zero desire to leave India. But at age 22, you listen to your dad,” Watsa says.
Ben Watsa has been on the board of Fairfax Financial Holdings since 2014.
The Marval Guru Fund that he helms was recently ranked the number one institutional fund in Canada. Its performance of 30% annualised returns over a five-year period was benchmarked against 3,200 funds domiciled in that country. It has a $400-million corpus.
Ben has two siblings, Christine McLean and Stephanie. The former has also been serving on Fairfax’s board since 2018.
