Thomas Kaplan
Encyclopedia
Thomas S. Kaplan is an American
entrepreneur
, natural resource
s investor, philanthropist
and art collector. He is the Founder and Principal of Tigris Group and the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of The Electrum Group LLC, a New York City-based investment, advisory and asset management firm with a principal focus on the natural resources sector.
to capitalize on the improving supply/demand fundamentals of metals. While he was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Apex, Kaplan's team discovered and financed the San Cristobal deposit in Bolivia, now one of the largest producers of silver and zinc in the world. Kaplan retired from Apex Silver at the end of 2004 to focus on his new exploration projects.
In 2003, a company related to Kaplan became the largest investor in African Platinum Plc (then known as Southern African Resources Plc), enabling it to explore and develop one of the largest platinum group metals projects in South Africa. In 2007, Kaplan sold his position in African Platinum as part of a transaction in which the company was acquired by Impala Platinum Limited, at a valuation of $580 million.
Also in 2003, Kaplan co-founded Leor Exploration & Production LLC, which became the fastest-growing privately held hydrocarbon exploration and production company in the United States. In 2007, Leor’s natural gas
assets were sold to EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. for $2.55 billion.
Kaplan’s knowledge of the natural resources sector led him to begin investing heavily in gold in 2000 and to be one of the first to predict that gold prices would increase dramatically. Since the sales of African Platinum and Leor in 2007, Kaplan has focused his investment attention primarily on the Electrum Group. Its exploration arm, Electrum Ltd., which he co-founded with Dr. Larry Buchanan, owns a diversified international portfolio of gold exploration assets. Its other entities hold significant interests in several publicly-traded companies, including NovaGold Resources Inc. and Gabriel Resources Ltd., two companies that own several of the largest proven gold resources in the world.
His view on gold has not changed. On February 25, 2009, he commented in Marc Faber
’s Gloom, Boom & Doom Report: “Some will say that $800 gold seems expensive. I would suggest the contrary: that a few years from now, sub-$1000 gold will feel like a true gift... The forced liquidation of leveraged positions of all kinds in late 2008 and early 2009 has presented an extraordinary opportunity to build long gold positions at low prices… [I]t should not be a surprise to see gold set new highs against all currencies, including a strong dollar, and an acceleration of the most enduring bull market in the world.”
Kaplan also believes that asset managers are re-examining gold as an acceptable investment option. In a January 2011 op-ed in the Financial Times’ Market Insights column, Kaplan discussed the Prudent Man construct as a tool to evaluate the benefits and risks of investing in gold. In that piece, he explained that a variety of factors – including the supply of and demand for gold, the devastation of financial industry and government balance sheets and the fact that gold is not tied to another person’s ability to pay – are causing asset managers and general banks to begin readmitting “gold back into the select group of prudent asset classes.” According to Kaplan, these developments suggest “interesting times ahead” for those who own the precious metal. Therefore, “the Prudent Man rule may well be golden indeed.”
As a leading investor in gold, Kaplan is credited with correctly predicting that gold prices would increase dramatically. His investment strategy and commitment to gold led Bloomberg Businessweek to refer to him as “Gold’s Evangelist.” In a May 2010 profile piece in the Wall Street Journal, Kaplan said, “I’ve reached a point where I feel the only asset I have confidence in is gold,” adding, “You’ve got a perfect storm with no apparent solution. … If the world does well, gold will be fine. If the world doesn’t do well, gold will also do fine … but a lot of other things could collapse.”
Beyond that, Kaplan’s leadership in the gold market was recognized in a Dec. 2010 Wall Street Journal article, which described Kaplan along with other investors including John Paulson, David Einhorn and John Burbank. The article stated that Kaplan is “making a bigger wager on gold than almost any investor,” noting that he believes junior minors provide the “greatest leverage to a bull market” and that the world is “entering an era defined by the scarcity value of great precious-metals assets.”
, a charity devoted to preserving big cats and their ecosystems around the globe. Among its many endeavors, Panthera created and maintains the largest protected jaguar
corridor in the Americas. In particular, the work of Panthera’s CEO, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, and Kaplan to balance the preservation of the jaguar corridor in Brazil with sustainable ranching was the focus of a January 2011 profile by CBS’ 60 Minutes. In that piece, Kaplan outlined his thesis for utilizing sustainable ranching and community development to protect the apex predator and its environment: “There is no better way to stop poaching than to make the local community say: ‘Hey, wait a minute, our children have medicine and education because of the jaguar.’ When you show that, you have won their hearts and their minds. Then you have won the war.”
Further to their commitment to ensuring the survival of the big cats, Kaplan and his wife, Dafna Recanati Kaplan, recently endowed the Recanati-Kaplan Center at Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, the WildCRU, creating the leading university-based felid conservation program.
The Kaplans also founded Project Orianne Ltd., a historic effort focused on conservation of the eastern indigo snake and its habitat, the long-leaf pine forests of the Southeastern United States.
Kaplan is also active in community and family philanthropy. He is the President of the Board of Directors of the 92nd Street Y
, a world-renowned, Jewish community and cultural center that strives to enrich the lives of the people who pass through its doors by hosting events and forums with some of today’s most influential leaders and thinkers. The Kaplan family has provided financial support for the Eternal Jewish Family and the Lillian Jean Kaplan Foundation, named after Kaplan’s mother. The Kaplans have also funded the Lillian Jean Kaplan Renal Transplantation Center at the University of Miami
as well as a variety of prizes and grants for medical science research. Kaplan also serves on the Advisory Board of New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital
Department of Internal Medicine.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, natural resource
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
s investor, philanthropist
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
and art collector. He is the Founder and Principal of Tigris Group and the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of The Electrum Group LLC, a New York City-based investment, advisory and asset management firm with a principal focus on the natural resources sector.
Career
Kaplan began his career as an advisor to hedge funds. In 1993, he founded Apex Silver MinesApex Silver Mines
Apex Silver Mines from Denver, Colorado was a US-American transnational mining corporation with a tax haven address in the Cayman Islands.Since its start in 1993, Apex Silver Mines Ltd...
to capitalize on the improving supply/demand fundamentals of metals. While he was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Apex, Kaplan's team discovered and financed the San Cristobal deposit in Bolivia, now one of the largest producers of silver and zinc in the world. Kaplan retired from Apex Silver at the end of 2004 to focus on his new exploration projects.
In 2003, a company related to Kaplan became the largest investor in African Platinum Plc (then known as Southern African Resources Plc), enabling it to explore and develop one of the largest platinum group metals projects in South Africa. In 2007, Kaplan sold his position in African Platinum as part of a transaction in which the company was acquired by Impala Platinum Limited, at a valuation of $580 million.
Also in 2003, Kaplan co-founded Leor Exploration & Production LLC, which became the fastest-growing privately held hydrocarbon exploration and production company in the United States. In 2007, Leor’s natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
assets were sold to EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. for $2.55 billion.
Kaplan’s knowledge of the natural resources sector led him to begin investing heavily in gold in 2000 and to be one of the first to predict that gold prices would increase dramatically. Since the sales of African Platinum and Leor in 2007, Kaplan has focused his investment attention primarily on the Electrum Group. Its exploration arm, Electrum Ltd., which he co-founded with Dr. Larry Buchanan, owns a diversified international portfolio of gold exploration assets. Its other entities hold significant interests in several publicly-traded companies, including NovaGold Resources Inc. and Gabriel Resources Ltd., two companies that own several of the largest proven gold resources in the world.
His view on gold has not changed. On February 25, 2009, he commented in Marc Faber
Marc Faber
-Background:Faber was born in Zürich and schooled in Geneva, Switzerland, where he raced for the Swiss National Ski Team. He studied Economics at the University of Zurich and, at the age of 24, obtained a Ph.D. degree in Economics magna cum laude...
’s Gloom, Boom & Doom Report: “Some will say that $800 gold seems expensive. I would suggest the contrary: that a few years from now, sub-$1000 gold will feel like a true gift... The forced liquidation of leveraged positions of all kinds in late 2008 and early 2009 has presented an extraordinary opportunity to build long gold positions at low prices… [I]t should not be a surprise to see gold set new highs against all currencies, including a strong dollar, and an acceleration of the most enduring bull market in the world.”
Kaplan also believes that asset managers are re-examining gold as an acceptable investment option. In a January 2011 op-ed in the Financial Times’ Market Insights column, Kaplan discussed the Prudent Man construct as a tool to evaluate the benefits and risks of investing in gold. In that piece, he explained that a variety of factors – including the supply of and demand for gold, the devastation of financial industry and government balance sheets and the fact that gold is not tied to another person’s ability to pay – are causing asset managers and general banks to begin readmitting “gold back into the select group of prudent asset classes.” According to Kaplan, these developments suggest “interesting times ahead” for those who own the precious metal. Therefore, “the Prudent Man rule may well be golden indeed.”
As a leading investor in gold, Kaplan is credited with correctly predicting that gold prices would increase dramatically. His investment strategy and commitment to gold led Bloomberg Businessweek to refer to him as “Gold’s Evangelist.” In a May 2010 profile piece in the Wall Street Journal, Kaplan said, “I’ve reached a point where I feel the only asset I have confidence in is gold,” adding, “You’ve got a perfect storm with no apparent solution. … If the world does well, gold will be fine. If the world doesn’t do well, gold will also do fine … but a lot of other things could collapse.”
Beyond that, Kaplan’s leadership in the gold market was recognized in a Dec. 2010 Wall Street Journal article, which described Kaplan along with other investors including John Paulson, David Einhorn and John Burbank. The article stated that Kaplan is “making a bigger wager on gold than almost any investor,” noting that he believes junior minors provide the “greatest leverage to a bull market” and that the world is “entering an era defined by the scarcity value of great precious-metals assets.”
Philanthropy
Kaplan and his family support a number of philanthropic and conservation causes in the United States and the developing world. Kaplan is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Panthera CorporationPanthera Corporation
Panthera Corporation is a charity organization devoted to preserving big cats and their ecosystems around the globe. Founded in 2006, Panthera focuses its efforts on conservation of the world’s largest, most imperiled cats—tigers, lions, jaguars and snow leopards—while also developing conservation...
, a charity devoted to preserving big cats and their ecosystems around the globe. Among its many endeavors, Panthera created and maintains the largest protected jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
corridor in the Americas. In particular, the work of Panthera’s CEO, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, and Kaplan to balance the preservation of the jaguar corridor in Brazil with sustainable ranching was the focus of a January 2011 profile by CBS’ 60 Minutes. In that piece, Kaplan outlined his thesis for utilizing sustainable ranching and community development to protect the apex predator and its environment: “There is no better way to stop poaching than to make the local community say: ‘Hey, wait a minute, our children have medicine and education because of the jaguar.’ When you show that, you have won their hearts and their minds. Then you have won the war.”
Further to their commitment to ensuring the survival of the big cats, Kaplan and his wife, Dafna Recanati Kaplan, recently endowed the Recanati-Kaplan Center at Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, the WildCRU, creating the leading university-based felid conservation program.
The Kaplans also founded Project Orianne Ltd., a historic effort focused on conservation of the eastern indigo snake and its habitat, the long-leaf pine forests of the Southeastern United States.
Kaplan is also active in community and family philanthropy. He is the President of the Board of Directors of the 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a multifaceted cultural institution and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, at the corner of E. 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Its full name is 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association...
, a world-renowned, Jewish community and cultural center that strives to enrich the lives of the people who pass through its doors by hosting events and forums with some of today’s most influential leaders and thinkers. The Kaplan family has provided financial support for the Eternal Jewish Family and the Lillian Jean Kaplan Foundation, named after Kaplan’s mother. The Kaplans have also funded the Lillian Jean Kaplan Renal Transplantation Center at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
as well as a variety of prizes and grants for medical science research. Kaplan also serves on the Advisory Board of New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the United States. In 2011-2012, Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S...
Department of Internal Medicine.
Personal
Kaplan holds Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees in history from Oxford University. He is married to Dafna Recanati Kaplan and they have three children.External links
- http://www.panthera.org/
- http://www.projectorianne.org/
- http://www.92y.org/