Prem Watsa

Prem Watsa was born in Hyderabad, India in 1950 and immigrated to Canada in 1972. He founded Fairfax Financial Holdings in 1985 after gaining experience in the insurance industry. Modeling his approach on Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway — using insurance float as investment capital — Watsa built Fairfax into a multi-billion dollar financial conglomerate with insurance operations worldwide including subsidiaries in Canada (Northbridge), US (Crum & Forster), India, and emerging markets. Watsa is known for his contrarian and value-oriented investment style, as well as his willingness to take large macro hedges. Most famously, he maintained massive credit default swap and equity hedge positions during 2003-2010, which paid off spectacularly during the 2008 financial crisis, generating over $2 billion in profits. Fairfax has also made significant investments in India, where Watsa has deep personal connections.