Bruce Karsh

Bruce Karsh
Born	(1955-10-10) October 10, 1955
Occupation(s)	Investor, attorney
Known for	Co-founder, co-chairman, and Chief Investment Officer of Oaktree Capital Management

Bruce Karsh (born October 10, 1955) is an American investor and former attorney. During the early 1980s, he worked as an appellate clerk for former Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and subsequently held positions at O'Melveny & Myers, Sun Life Insurance Company (previously Kaufman & Broad), and the TCW Group. In 1995, he co-established Oaktree Capital Management, assuming the roles of co-chairman and Chief Investment Officer. As of August 2020, Forbes estimated his net worth at $2.1 billion, ranking him 391st on the Forbes 400 list.

Early life and education

Born in 1955 to a Jewish family, Bruce A. Karsh is the son of David H. Karsh and Roberta "Bobby" Karsh. He completed his high school education at Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis in 1974. Karsh graduated summa cum laude from Duke University in 1977 with an A.B. degree in economics and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1980, where he was honored with the Order of the Coif and served as notes editor for the Virginia Law Review.

Early career (1980–1995)

Following law school, Karsh clerked for Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy before practicing law at O'Melveny & Myers. He later worked as an assistant to billionaire Eli Broad, who chaired Sun Life Insurance Company and SunAmerica.

In 1987, after Broad's insurance firm became a client of TCW Group, Karsh was recruited by Howard Marks to oversee distressed debt investments at TCW. There, he held the position of managing director and managed the Special Credits Funds. TCW introduced its inaugural distressed debt fund in 1988.

Oaktree Capital Management (1995–present)

In April 1995, Karsh departed TCW alongside Marks and three others to launch Oaktree Capital Management. At Oaktree, he took on portfolio management responsibilities for Distressed Opportunities and Value Opportunities strategies while serving as Chief Investment Officer.

Ken Moelis, CEO of Moelis & Company, characterizes Marks as the public figurehead of Oaktree, whereas Karsh is regarded as the discreet driving force behind the scenes—known for his meticulous analysis and precise timing in distressed asset investing.

Honors

Karsh and Marks were jointly honored with Institutional Investor's Money Manager of the Year award in 2015. That same year, Karsh and his wife received KIPP's Giving Tree Award. In 2016, he was bestowed with the Duke University Medal.

In May 2023, Bruce and his wife were awarded honorary doctorates from Howard University alongside prominent individuals including Joe Biden. They were also recipients of the Presidents' Award at the UNCF's 80th anniversary gala held in March 2024.

Philanthropy

In 1998, Bruce Karsh and his wife established the Karsh Family Foundation, which has contributed over $300 million toward educational initiatives and scholarships. Notable beneficiaries include Teach for America and KIPP. Additionally, Karsh co-founded The Painted Turtle—a nonprofit camp dedicated to children suffering from life-threatening illnesses.

The Karsh family has donated more than $100 million to Duke University primarily to support undergraduate financial aid programs, with significant gifts of $12 million in 2005, $20 million in 2008, and $50 million in 2011. The Office of Undergraduate Financial Support was named in their honor in 2016, followed by the opening of the Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center in 2019. Bruce Karsh served on Duke’s Board of Trustees from 2003 until 2015 and chaired its investment management company (DUMAC) beginning in 2005.

They also funded The Karsh Family Social Service Center at Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard Temple, which offers vital services such as food assistance, dental care, legal help, and mental health support to underprivileged clients.

In 2018, Bruce and Martha Karsh donated $43.9 million to the University of Virginia School of Law—the largest contribution in its history—supporting scholarship programs and founding the Karsh Center for Law and Democracy. They had previously financed renovations for the Karsh Student Services Center completed in 2012.

In January 2020, their gift of $10 million to Howard University enabled renaming its Bison STEM Scholars Program as the Karsh STEM Scholars Program. Later that year in July, their foundation provided $25 million to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to advance digestive and liver disease research; this led to naming the division as the Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Following their $50 million scholarship donation to Duke University in 2011, Bruce and Martha appeared on Chronicle’s Philanthropy 50 list that year. In 2021, they contributed another $50 million to establish the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia—a gift matched by the institution itself.

Personal life

Bruce Karsh is married to Martha Karsh, an attorney who also co-founded the architectural firm Clark & Karsh. The family lives in Beverly Hills, California alongside their three children, as well as their daughter-in-law and grandson.

In 2001, the Karsh family secured the rights to the Beatles' 1964 motion picture A Hard Day's Night from the estate of producer Walter Shenson. Additionally, Bruce Karsh holds partial ownership of the Beatles' 1965 film Help!.

The Karshes hold minority stakes in the Golden State Warriors, with Bruce participating on the team’s executive board.

External links

• Bruce Karsh Bio at Oaktree