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Bruce Flatt is a Canadian businessman and investor often referred to as “Canada’s Warren Buffet”, thanks to his value investing style. He has been the CEO of Brookfield Asset Management since 2002, he joined the company in 1990.
Flatt started his career at the accounting firm Ernst & Young straight out of college. In 1990 he joined Canadian conglomerate Brascan, which shortly after was risking bankruptcy. Flatt helped turn the fate of the company around and shaped the struggling corporation into Brookfield Asset Management.
To answer the question “How much is Bruce Flatt worth?”, we have decided to compile all the publicly available data. Below we’ve provided our best estimate as to the Canadian investor’s net worth.
Note that estimates are precisely that and are not necessarily conclusive. With the help of publicly available assessments, we can determine a figure that is likely to be representative of Bruce Flatt’s net worth.
 | Bruce Flatt |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | November 7, 1965 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Title | CEO, Investor |
| Companies Founded | Brookfield Asset Management |
| Best Known For | Creating Brookfield Asset Management, Alternative Investing |
| Net Worth (USD) | $2.8 Billion |
What Is Bruce Flatt’s Net Worth?
By most estimates we have accessed, Bruce Flatt’s net worth is approximately $2.8 billion. As of February 2022, Forbes ranks the Canadian investor #1205 on their billionaire list with a net worth of 2.8 billion.
The above evaluation seems feasible to us. Flatt has been at the helm of Brookfield Asset Management since 2002. The company manages assets for a total of over $600 billion, and Flatt is a partner of the asset manager. It wasn’t possible to determine Flatt’s total holdings but as he first invested in Brookfield Properties in 1997 the above figure seems in the ballpark.
Bruce Flatt Biography
Bruce Flatt was born on November 7, 1965, in Toronto, Canada. He went to the University of Manitoba where he studied accounting. Once he finished his college degree he went to work for Ernst & Young in Manitoba.
In 1990 he joined Brascan, a Canadian conglomerate with holdings in timberland, Labatt Beer, and the Toronto Blue Jays. The company was built by Peter Bronfman with the help of his South African partner Jack Cockwell. By the mid-90s Brascan was in serious trouble and forced to sell its beer, baseball, and forestry interests.
The stock value of Brascan was greatly devalued, and the company was on the brink of bankruptcy. Bronfman decided to step aside, selling his shares to managers within the company. Flatt jumped at the opportunity to acquire a large number of shares of the company.
He knew that this could be a multi-billion opportunity if he and his partners could implement the right strategies. Flatt placed his interest in Brookfield’s real estate properties. In 1992 he bought the senior debt of Olympia & York which had filed for bankruptcy. O&Y had sustained heavy losses developing Canary Wharf in London.
In 1997, Flatt listed Brookfield Properties on the public market and proceeded to buy out his minority partners. By 2000 he was the CEO of Brookfield Properties and by 2002 he had become the CEO of the conglomerate Brookfield Asset Management.
How Did Bruce Flatt Build His Wealth?
Without a doubt, Flatt’s wealth creation started when he seized the opportunity to buy stock in the failing Brascan corporation. He went all-in, borrowing money to acquire the shares, and decided to make the bet of his life on a company he knew well.
Flatt lived through the market crises of the early 1990s, the 2001 dot com bubble, and the 2007 mortgage crisis. However, Flatt had always taken an interest in real assets, from the very start he concentrated on Brascan’s participation in real estate and expanded that interest.
After taking the helm of the company in 2002, Flatt streamlined the company’s holdings into 3 sectors: Infrastructure, real estate, and renewable energy. Flatt set the asset-management unit on top of these divisions. The move was designed to capture outside funds generating fees and allowing the company to have capital at its disposal for market dislocations.
Following the Enron crisis, Brookfield acquired hundreds of hydroelectric plants across the northeast at discount prices. In 2005, Flatt decided to rebrand the whole Brascan operation under the one name, Brookfield.
Worthy of note is the spectacular performance of Brookfield Asset Management since Flatt became CEO. BAM has increased its value by 2,698% since Flatt took full control of the company in January 2002. In comparison, the S&P 500 has increased in value by 249% over the same period.
How Is Bruce Flatt’s Net Worth Calculated
In the case of Bruce Flatt who is the CEO and partner of a publicly-traded company, his holdings are registered with the SEC. Disclosure of his shares in a publicly-traded company, which make up the bulk of his wealth, allows for an accurate estimate of his wealth.
This publicly available information is combined with his other real assets such as vehicles, homes, and secondary properties. Publicly known debts are then subtracted from the previous combined total to reach an approximate estimate of Bruce Flatt’s net worth of about $2.8 billion.
Flatt’s Views on Alternative Assets
Flat has always had a strong interest in alternative assets. When he first joined Brascan the main focus of his attention pivoted to real estate. That interest in real assets has continued to drive his investing strategies.
At a meeting in 2007, at the onset of the financial crisis, Flatt listened to the analysis of Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg. Rosenberg warned that a severe recession was about to begin, and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, also present, warned of the implosion of Collateralized Debt Obligations.
When Flatt got up to speak, he mentioned that these doomsday scenarios were predictions concerning the very short term. He was more interested in infrastructure. More specifically, pipelines, wire towers, power generation, and ports or toll roads.
Flatt saw a $35 trillion opportunity hiding in plain sight. “David’s presentation is probably about the next 6 months, mine is about the next 25 to 60 years”.
Bruce Flatt is well-known for value investing. But he also has the reputation of being a contrarian investor. This type of investor buys when everyone is selling. Bruce Flatt also applies this approach to alternative assets. He is known for stating “Never put yourself in a situation where you have to sell something in an environment where you should be buying.”
Investing in real estate and infrastructure as well as other alternative assets is not possible through a simple IRA. To diversify your portfolio by investing in REITs, gold, or Bitcoin you need to open a Self-Directed IRA.
Who Else Invests Like Bruce Flatt?
Not all investors have the same style. To compare investors like Bruce Flatt check out these investor profiles:
Want to Invest Like Bruce Flatt?
If you want to invest like Bruce Flatt you would need to assimilate his main concepts, buy when everyone is selling, and never need to sell when everyone else is. That may not always be so easy, however, you can start investing aggressively just like Bruce Flatt has done throughout his career.
First thing, you need to open a Self-Directed IRA account today. These accounts allow you to benefit from their tax-deferred income growth while you invest in alternative assets like Bruce Flatt. In these accounts, you can include real estate, gold, or cryptocurrencies.
