Green For Life’s founder built a garbage empire on $9 billion in debt. Now interest rates are rocketing up — is he worried?

  • 📰 TorontoStar
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 103 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 45%
  • Publisher: 55%

Loans Loans Headlines News

Loans Loans Latest News,Loans Loans Headlines

GFL founder and CEO Patrick Dovigi’s appetite for risk helped him to build one of the largest waste management companies in North America in just 15 years. Here’s how he did it — and what’s coming next.

If Patrick Dovigi, one of Canada’s wealthiest people, cowered in the face of risk, his life would be far different.

It’s also an estimated personal net worth of more than $1 billion, a private island in Muskoka near lake Joseph that he accesses via seaplane, and, until it was recently sold, a 75-metre yacht called Lady Jorgia that was named after his youngest of five children and was valued at approximately $90 million.

Dovigi, the son of Italian immigrants, credits his fearlessness to long hours spent blocking pucks hurled at him by his father, Fred, on the family outdoor rink in Sault Ste. Marie. “Everything hurts more when it’s minus 40,” he recalls. But his auspicious start turned sour: he spent the next four years moving across the continent and bouncing around minor league teams, and eventually he hung up the skates after growing tired of not having control over his own career path.

The cleanup took two and a half years, enough time for Dovigi to form relationships in the waste services industry, and to leave the experience with a notebook full of notes on how not to run a garbage company. David Kassie, a partner at Canaccord Genuity Group, met with him, liked his enthusiasm, and offered him $10 million for a 65 per cent stake in the company, under the condition that he spend the entire investment by the end of that calendar year.

Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm from Atlanta, Ga., invested $105 million in the company in 2010. In a northern Alberta diner, Dovigi once made a deal with the owner of a garbage company over bowls of Jell-O, and inherited the business’ garbage routes, all written neatly on the back of recipe cards.Toronto takeover

“I thought: young me — what business do I have privatizing one of the largest municipal contracts in North American history? I told people on our team, ‘this contract is going to make or break this company.’ ” “People think entrepreneurs just make decisions with their gut,” said Grahek. “What people don’t realize about Patrick is that he is the most informed decision-maker I have ever met — he’ll do the legwork that others are not willing to do.”

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Laidlaw went under about 20 years ago after management took on too much debt.

Bribe, cheat, and steal that is how

Apparently, the way he does business, offers potential client an offer they can't refuse. In this day and age, in this city, in this country? No wonder world's mafia loves your country.

They have moved into North Central Florida recently. We do business with a few of their facilities. Decent company to work with. Quite the story.

An Italian guy making big money in waste management? Hmm I’d caution TorStar not to delve too deep into anything or they might be sleeping with the fishies.

Hey iamdavidmiller - how was GFL built again? 🤔

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 60. in LOANS

Loans Loans Latest News, Loans Loans Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

TTC CEO calls for subway cell service amid public transit safety debateTTC CEO says the agency has been trying for more than a decade to introduce cell service across the system, but there’s been little interest from the telecom giants Sure. How about law, enforcement and consequences first! Honestly, why has there not been cell service implemented yet? Why does the TTC live in the dark ages? So many industry experts told them not to go with that solution. They didn’t listen. They were advised the providers wouldn’t connect and that it wasn’t a long term solution. And so here we are.
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »