Bruce Karsh

Bruce A. Karsh
Born	10 10, 1955
Nationality	American
Occupation	Co-Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, Oaktree Capital Management; Executive board member and minority owner, Golden State Warriors
Known for	Co-founding Oaktree Capital Management
Spouse(s)	Martha Karsh

Bruce A. Karsh (born October 10, 1955) is an American investor, former lawyer, and philanthropist who co-founded Oaktree Capital Management in 1995 alongside Howard Marks and several other partners. As Co-Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of the Los Angeles-based global investment firm, Karsh has overseen the development of one of the world's largest managers of distressed debt and alternative investments. Before entering the investment world, Karsh pursued a legal career that included serving as an appellate clerk to Anthony Kennedy, who later became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Karsh then worked at the law firm O'Melveny & Myers, Sun Life Insurance Company (formerly Kaufman & Broad), and the TCW Group before co-founding Oaktree. Over the course of three decades, Oaktree grew to manage tens of billions of dollars in assets across multiple investment strategies, with Karsh's leadership in distressed debt investment forming a core pillar of the firm's identity. Beyond finance, Karsh and his wife Martha have become prominent philanthropists, making significant gifts to institutions including the University of Virginia, Duke University, and Howard University.

Early Life

Bruce A. Karsh was born on October 10, 1955, and grew up in the St. Louis metropolitan area, where he attended schools in the Ladue School District. His upbringing in the St. Louis Jewish community shaped many of his early experiences. Karsh later received recognition from his alma mater's alumni association as a distinguished graduate, honoring his achievements in finance and philanthropy.

Details about Karsh's formative years and early influences in finance are limited in available public sources. What is documented is that he pursued higher education at Duke University for his undergraduate studies and subsequently attended the University of Virginia School of Law for his legal education, where he met his future wife, Martha.

Education

Karsh earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University, where he would later serve as a member of the university's Board of Trustees. He subsequently earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Virginia School of Law. It was at Virginia's law school that Karsh and his wife Martha both studied and began their relationship, an association that would later result in major philanthropic commitments to the institution.

Karsh's legal education proved foundational to his early career, as he went on to clerk for a federal appellate judge—Anthony Kennedy, then serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit—before Kennedy's elevation to the Supreme Court. His legal training and clerkship experience informed his analytical approach to investment, particularly in the complex area of distressed debt, where understanding legal structures, bankruptcy proceedings, and creditor rights is essential.

Career

Legal Career

After completing his law degree at the University of Virginia, Karsh began his professional career in the legal field. He served as a law clerk to Judge Anthony M. Kennedy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Kennedy was later nominated and confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1988. Karsh's clerkship under Kennedy placed him in an elite cohort of young legal professionals and provided him with rigorous analytical training.

Following his clerkship, Karsh joined the prominent law firm O'Melveny & Myers, where he practiced law before transitioning into the financial industry. His time in legal practice gave him deep familiarity with corporate law, restructuring, and the legal dimensions of financial transactions—skills that would become central to his subsequent career in distressed debt investing.

Transition to Finance

Karsh moved from legal practice into the insurance and investment sectors. He worked at Sun Life Insurance Company, which had formerly been known as Kaufman & Broad, gaining experience in institutional investment management. He subsequently joined the TCW Group, a Los Angeles-based asset management firm, where he worked alongside Howard Marks. At TCW, Karsh and Marks collaborated on distressed debt investment strategies, building a track record and developing the investment philosophy that would become the foundation of their future firm.

The partnership between Karsh and Marks at TCW proved productive and intellectually complementary. Marks, known for his investment memos and macro-level thinking about market cycles, found in Karsh a detail-oriented partner with deep legal expertise and a rigorous approach to credit analysis. Their collaboration at TCW laid the groundwork for what would become Oaktree Capital Management.

Oaktree Capital Management

On April 10, 1995, Karsh co-founded Oaktree Capital Management alongside Howard Marks, Sheldon Stone, and several other partners. The firm was headquartered in downtown Los Angeles and focused on alternative investment strategies, with a particular emphasis on distressed debt—the buying and selling of debt obligations of companies in or near financial distress, often at significant discounts to face value.

As Chief Investment Officer, Karsh took primary responsibility for Oaktree's investment decisions and portfolio management. Under his leadership of the investment side of the business, Oaktree developed a reputation as one of the world's preeminent distressed debt investors. A 2011 Bloomberg News profile described the firm as the "biggest distressed-debt investor," noting returns of approximately 19 percent over a 22-year period in certain strategies.

Oaktree's investment approach, as shaped by both Karsh and Marks, emphasized risk control, consistency, and a contrarian willingness to invest in out-of-favor assets during periods of market stress. The firm's strategies expanded over the years to encompass corporate debt, control investing, real estate, listed equities, and other alternative asset classes, while distressed debt remained a core competency.

The firm went through several significant corporate milestones. Oaktree went public on the New York Stock Exchange, providing external investors with access to the firm's management company. In 2019, Brookfield Asset Management acquired a majority stake in Oaktree, combining Brookfield's real assets expertise with Oaktree's credit and distressed debt capabilities. In October 2025, Brookfield announced plans to acquire the remaining approximately 26 percent stake in Oaktree that it did not already own in a deal valued at approximately $3 billion, taking full control of the firm.

As of 2025, Karsh continued to serve as Co-Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of the firm, now operating under the Brookfield Oaktree Holdings umbrella. The Los Angeles Business Journal reported in 2025 that Oaktree had seen its assets grow in the preceding year, and the publication named Karsh to its LA500 list of the most influential business leaders in Los Angeles. In October 2025, the same publication profiled Karsh in its annual wealth rankings, noting his role as co-chairman of the downtown-based firm.

In celebration of Oaktree's 30th anniversary on April 10, 2025, cofounders Marks, Karsh, and Stone participated in a recorded conversation reflecting on the firm's history, investment philosophy, and evolution over three decades.

Golden State Warriors

In addition to his role at Oaktree, Karsh serves as an executive board member and minority owner of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. The Warriors won multiple NBA championships during the period of Karsh's involvement with the franchise.

Personal Life

Bruce Karsh is married to Martha Karsh (née Martha L. Lubin). The couple met while both were students at the University of Virginia School of Law. Martha Karsh has been involved in various civic and nonprofit activities, including serving on the board of directors of Common Sense Media.

The Karsh family has maintained connections to the Los Angeles community, including involvement with the Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Karsh has also maintained ties to his hometown of St. Louis and was recognized as a distinguished alumnus of the Ladue School District in 2012.

The couple has been active philanthropists through the Karsh Family Foundation, directing significant resources to education, democracy promotion, and access to higher education for underserved communities.

Philanthropy

The philanthropic activities of Bruce and Martha Karsh, primarily conducted through the Karsh Family Foundation, have focused on higher education, democratic institutions, and educational access.

University of Virginia

The Karsh family's most prominent philanthropic commitments have been directed at the University of Virginia, their shared alma mater. In May 2018, Martha and Bruce Karsh announced a donation of $43.9 million to the University of Virginia School of Law, described at the time as the largest gift in the law school's history. The gift was intended to support the institution's educational mission, faculty, and student programs.

In June 2021, the University of Virginia announced plans to invest $100 million in the study, teaching, and promotion of democracy, with the Karsh family gift serving as the leading contribution to what was described as a defining institutional ambition for the 21st century. The resulting Karsh Institute of Democracy was established to advance research, teaching, and public engagement related to democratic governance and civic life. The university had also previously undertaken renovations to its law school facilities with support from the Karsh family.

Duke University

Karsh has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Duke University, his undergraduate alma mater. In 2008, Duke University recognized the Karsh family for their philanthropic contributions to the university. A subsequent gift was also recognized in 2011.

Howard University

The Karsh Family Foundation has also directed significant resources to Howard University. In December 2022, Howard University announced that it had received a second $10 million gift from the Karsh Family Foundation to support the Graduation Retention Access to Continued Excellence (GRACE) Grant Program, which provides financial assistance to students at risk of not completing their degrees due to financial hardship. The announcement described Bruce and Martha Karsh as "longtime Howard supporters."

Other Philanthropic Activities

The Karsh family has also supported educational initiatives in the Los Angeles area, including involvement with KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools in Los Angeles. Bruce Karsh has been profiled by Inside Philanthropy as a notable Wall Street donor for his charitable giving patterns.

Recognition

Karsh has received recognition from multiple institutions and publications for his professional achievements and philanthropic contributions.

He was named to the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans, first appearing on the Forbes billionaires list in 2008. Forbes has continued to track his wealth in subsequent years.

The Los Angeles Business Journal has repeatedly included Karsh among the most influential and wealthiest figures in the Los Angeles business community. In 2025, he was named to the publication's LA500 list, which recognizes the 500 most influential people in Los Angeles business. He was also ranked 36th in the publication's 2025 wealth listing.

The Ladue School District in the St. Louis area named Karsh a Distinguished Alumnus in 2012, recognizing his career accomplishments and contributions.

At Duke University, Karsh served on the Board of Trustees and received recognition for his service and philanthropy to the institution.

Legacy

Bruce Karsh's career is closely associated with the development and institutionalization of distressed debt as a mainstream asset class within the alternative investment industry. Through Oaktree Capital Management, Karsh and co-founder Howard Marks built an organization that demonstrated the viability of disciplined, value-oriented investing in the debt of financially troubled companies over extended periods and across multiple market cycles.

The firm's 30-year track record, celebrated in 2025, represents one of the longer continuous histories among alternative investment managers founded in the 1990s. Oaktree's integration into Brookfield Asset Management—culminating in Brookfield's acquisition of full ownership in 2025—positioned the firm's strategies within one of the world's largest alternative asset management platforms.

Beyond the investment world, the Karsh family's philanthropic commitments—particularly the establishment of the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia and the GRACE Grant Program support at Howard University—represent efforts to direct private wealth toward institutional investments in democratic governance and educational equity.

Karsh's career trajectory, from appellate law clerk to co-founder and chief investment officer of a multibillion-dollar investment firm, illustrates a path from legal training through institutional finance to entrepreneurial firm-building that has been followed by other notable figures in the alternative investment industry.