Fairfax Financial
| Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Corporation |
| ISIN | CA3039011026 |
| founding | 1985 |
| Seat |
Toronto , Canada
|
| management | Prem Watsa, chairman |
| Number of employees | 8,200 |
| sales | $ 7.5 billion (2007) |
| Branch | Insurance |
| Website | Fairfax Financial |
Fairfax Financial is a Canadian company headquartered in Toronto . The company was founded in 1985. The company offers various types of insurance for its customers. Fairfax Financial had 2007 net premium income of $ 4.65 billion and total revenue of $ 7.48 billion.
history
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. was named "Markel Service of Canada Ltd." founded on March 13, 1951. The company adopted its current name in May 1987. The company is led by Chairman and CEO Prem Watsa , who owns nearly half of the company. Watsa's unorthodox business strategies have been compared to those of Warren Buffett .
In 1985, Prem Watsa took control of Markel Financial, a Canadian-based truck insurance specialist that was previously under the control of the Markel family ( Markel Corporation ) of Virginia . The company was on the verge of bankruptcy, but Watsa believed that an injection of capital would prevent it from happening. He got along well with Steven Markel, who is still friends with him. In May 1987 he restructured the company and changed the name from Markel to Fairfax (which he chose as the abbreviation for "fair, friendly acquisitions").
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ (SEC.gov - Fairfax's EDGAR filing, March 9, 2007) http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/915191/000090956707000364/o35141exv1.htm "
- ↑ (Yahoo! Finance - Company Profile of Fairfax Financial) http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/56/56469.html "
- ↑ (Fool.com - December 5, 2007 - How to Dodge the Debt: BRK.A & FFH) http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/12/05/how-to-dodge-the -debt.aspx "