Prem Watsa arrived in Canada as a teenager with just $8 in his pocket. Today, at 76, the Indo-Canadian billionaire contr...

Prem Watsa arrived in Canada as a teenager with just $8 in his pocket. Today, at 76, the Indo-Canadian billionaire controls a fortune worth more than $2.5 billion and has quietly become one of the most consequential foreign investors in the Greek economy. Watsa's involvement with Greece started during the depths of the financial crisis, when most foreign investors were running for the exits. While Greek blue chips were trading at fire-sale prices, Watsa moved in the opposite direction, placing early bets on Grivalia, Eurobank, Eurolife, and Praktiker. The gamble took time to pay off, but he never bolted, and the patience rewarded him well. The returns have been substantial. Generous dividends, strategic asset sales including Eurolife Life and Praktiker, and last year's placement of 80 million Eurobank shares generated significant cash, which Watsa then plowed straight back into Greece rather than pulling it out. His second wave of Greek investments includes Metlen and ANT1+. Just last week, he added the food and beverage division of Vivartia to his portfolio, picking up the Goody's, Everest, Flocafe, La Pasteria, and Jackaroo restaurant chains in a deal covering a business with annual revenues around 300 million euros. The centerpiece of his Greek portfolio remains Eurobank. Through his holding company Fairfax, Watsa controls 32.6% of the bank, a stake currently valued at around 5.2 billion euros. His Metlen position, at 8.3%, adds another 583 million euros to that figure. Comparisons to Warren Buffett have followed Watsa throughout his career, and it's not hard to see why. He bought when others fled, stayed when others doubted, and is now collecting the returns that come from that kind of conviction. #Greece #Investment #Eurobank