Pacweb.co

 “Comfortable with ambiguity,” says the sign on Pan American Silver chairman Ross Beaty’s office door. It’s a fitting mantra for the mining magnate and environmentalist: over the course of his career, he’s made billions in non renewable resources, but now devotes much of his time advocating for sustainability. “If there’s anything I can do to change the direction of global consumption, I figure I should do it as a service to my kids and the world at large,” Beaty told us in an hour-long interview on Tuesday. “Nature has a way of asserting herself, but I don’t think we should wait until it’s too late. Reducing our ecological footprint doesn’t have to reduce our quality of life — we have the knowledge to make the change. I’m just trying to help catalyze it.” Through his nonprofit, the Sitka Foundation, Beaty backs environmentally conscious organizations. Among them are UBC, the Pacific Salmon Foundation, and the David Suzuki Foundation. He also invests a large portion of his personal...

The Atascosa Ranch is walking distance from the US/Mexico border, just outside of Nogales, Arizona. It’s owned by Dave Lowell, an affable 84-year-old man who’s spent the past 75+ years hunting for buried treasure. Today, he’s known as the most successful mining explorationist of the past century, having discovered an unprecedented seventeen ore bodies, including the world’s largest copper mine. Last week, Lowell and his wife, Edith, invited us to Atascosa for lunch. We brought our cameras and sound equipment, and recorded a conversation with one of mining’s greatest outliers of all time. J. David Lowell was born February 28, 1928, to a modest family, not too far from Atascosa (the ranch belonged to his uncle at the time). Lowell was first exposed to mining at age 7, when his father, a mining engineer, put him to work. When Lowell pursued his college education at Arizona and then Stanford, he concurrently worked at mines and on exploration programs. Not too long after he had completed h...

One of the most common ways to become wealthy is to come up with an idea that requires capital (such as buying a building or a company) and pitch it to a sophisticated investor. If the investor wants to back the idea, the pitcher may get a piece of the action for coming up with the idea and seeing it through. This is the same as a ‘carried interest’ in the private equity world. I learned this lesson from Fred Wright, a legendary Canadian investment banker, a few years ago when I asked him for advice on creating personal wealth. Fred is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and Chairman of Capital West Partners, Western Canada’s leading independent investment bank. In his past life he was President of Pemberton Securities when it sold to RBC. Fred is a wonderful guy with a sterling reputation. When I sought Fred out for advice few years ago, he told me his secret to institutional sales. His advice was this: “Never presume to know what smart money thinks is a good deal. Just be humble, say why y...

My big bro Adam (pictured) has become a budding businessman after several years of thumbing his nose at commerce. This is a good thing as he’s very talented and competitive. Adam now has to deal with frustrating client emails, the way I used to in spades running Pacweb.co. I made a million mistakes as an entrepreneur in my early 20’s dealing with client emails emotionally. But then a few years ago I met an extremely successful real estate financier who taught me a different approach. “Hi Tommy, Thanks for your email” he started every message he wrote to me. “Wow, that’s nice,” I thought. It didn’t matter what came after those first words, I was completely disarmed by his gentle opening. This man had been around long enough to know that he would catch more flies with honey than he would with vinegar, as the saying goes. And he obviously caught a lot of flies. Here was a billionaire becoming completely humble to a 25-year-old. I have adopted this lesson for my own emails, and I haven’t h...

We had the opportunity to sit down with Frank Giustra last week, the lion behind Lionsgate Films, and an early architect of countless resource companies—most notably Wheaton River Minerals (now known as the $33B Goldcorp, which spun out the $12B Silver Wheaton), Petro Rubiales (now the $7B Pacific Rubiales), and Urasia Energy. By all accounts Giustra is brilliant, connected and wealthy. He made headlines in 2007 by pledging over $100 million and half of his future earnings to establish a charitable foundation with President Clinton. Outside of philanthropy however, Giustra has been reluctant to draw attention to himself, and rarely speaks publicly about investing. In 2002 however, he moved heavily into gold and published,  “A Tarnished Dollar Will Put the Shine on Gold” , when it was trading under $300 an ounce. Ten years later and with gold now priced over $1600/oz., it still occupies the largest percentage of his investment portfolio, and his views remain the same. In discussing ...

Lived November 29, 1956 - August 23, 2002 #2 Man at Polygon Homes, British Columbia’s largest home builder Ten years ago today Polygon Homes Executive Vice President Rick Genest was tragically killed when a boulder fell on his car while driving to his summer home in Bridge Lake, BC. In the 45 years of his life leading up to that point, he rose from humble beginnings and ultimately became, as the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association put it, “One of the development and homebuilding industries’ greatest visionaries and innovators.” Author’s Note: In growing up with his son Joe, I was fortunate enough to get to know Rick during my teenage years. We shared many laughs at each other's, and Joe's expense. In celebrating the anniversary of his passing, here are some moments, words, and images from his life you may find inspiring. Humble Beginnings Rick Genest Letter to Mom 1967 Rick Genest was born on November 29, 1956, to parents Joe and Mary in Victoria, BC. He was the younge...

I had wanted to interview Kevin O’Leary ever since I attended a small presentation on his O’Leary family of mutual funds that he gave to money managers in Vancouver last spring. Before those financial gatekeepers, O’Leary was his usual fast talking self, but more humble and incisive than he appears on TV. When we were able to sit down and talk in Whistler last Friday, I thought Cambridge House investors should see that side of him. Our discussion revealed a quieter, analytical, and generous side that most people never see. O’Leary articulated his investing philosophy, which also guides his fund family. It will surprise you: He’s actually very conservative, and believes “an investment without a dividend is simply speculation.” Hence the mandate for capital preservation and income of O’Leary Funds, which are aimed at retail investors. For an hour, we talked about investing, macroeconomics, geopolitics, life and even wine. So dust off a bottle (1990 Cheval Blanc, Mr. Wonderful’s favorite)...