Ben Watsa Named Successor for Fairfax Financial

Hyderabad: Hyderabad-born billionaire Prem Watsa’s son Ben Watsa will gradually take over as chairman of Fairfax Financial Holdings, the $100-billion global investment and insurance giant. The disclosure is made in an upcoming book, The Fairfax Way- Inside Prem Watsa's Secret to Lasting Success by author David Thomas, reports said.

Watsa, known for his business acumen and his company's significant investments, particularly in insurance and in major global companies, is not stepping away immediately from the company affairs but wants Fairfax shareholders to be reassured about continuity. “It’s important that shareholders and the company know there is a plan for continuity… It’s not like I will be ruling from the grave, but I will die knowing the culture will continue to flourish,” Watsa is quoted as saying in the book, the reports said.

On the other hand, Thomas has been putting out a series of tweets on X explaining Watsa’s investment rationale, take on shorting, people policies and business strategies. The book is set to be officially launched on Nov.18.

Ben Watsa, 46, has been on Fairfax’s board since 2014. He is founder and CEO of Marval Capital and CIO of the Marval Guru Fund, which recently topped Canada’s institutional fund rankings with a 30 percent annualised return over five years.

Prem Watsa, who founded Fairfax in 1985 as a modest insurance firm, was born in Hyderabad and is an alumni of the Hyderabad Public School. He graduated from IIT Madras with a degree in chemical engineering. During the centenary celebrations of the school, Watsa, along with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, World Bank Group chairman Ajay Banga, have announced Rs 300-crore donation for building a new facility at the school.

Fairfax Financial Holdings has disclosed 28 security holdings in their (2025 Q2) SEC 13F filing(s) with portfolio value of $1,871 million. In Prem Watsa's portfolio as of 30 Jun 2025, the top 5 holdings are Orla Mining (29.9 per cent), Occidental Petroleum Corp, (13.58 per cent), CVS Health Corp (9.99 per cent), Blackberry (9.98 per cent) and Kraft Heinz (6.74 per cent).