EP 89: First Generation Millionaire. David Garofalo, Chairman/CEO Gold Royalty Corp.
Updated: May 10, 2022
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This week on The Millionaire Choice Podcast, Tony talks with David Garofalo, CEO of Gold Royalty Corp. Tony and David discuss limited resources, fiat currencies, and protecting your assets from inflation.
David was born in Toronto, Canada. At age 16, his father had immigrated to Canada to flee post World War II Italy. With only just enough education to read and write in Italian, he taught himself English via movies and television.
About David Garofalo
Today, Mr. Garofalo has served as Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chairman of the board of directors of the Company since August 2020. David has worked in various leadership capacities in the natural resources sector over the last 30 years. Prior to joining the Company, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Goldcorp Inc., a gold production company headquartered in Vancouver, until its sale to Newmont Corporation in April 2019. Prior to that, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Hudbay Minerals Inc. from 2010 to 2015, where he presided over that company’s emergence as a leading metals producer.
Previously, he held various senior executive positions with mining companies, including Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer and a director of Agnico-Eagle Limited from 1998 to 2010 and as treasurer and other various finance roles with Inmet Mining Corporation from 1990 to 1998. He was named Mining Person of the Year by The Northern Miner in 2012 and Canada’s Chief Financial Officer of the Year by Financial Executives International Canada in 2009. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants in Canada and a Certified Director of the Institute of Corporate Directors. He also serves on the board of directors of the Vancouver Board of Trade and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Learn more about David Garofalo, https://goldroyalty.com/
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Show Transcript
Tony (00:00):
Welcome back to the Millionaire Choice Show. On today's show we're gonna learn a little bit something new. We've talked about gold, and mining, and gold ownership. We haven't really talked about gold royalties before. So, I'm eager to bring you all- David, I'm gonna mess this up, man. You're gonna have to tell us how to say this correctly. Garofalo?
David Garofalo (00:21):
Garofalo, but very, very close.
Tony (00:23):
Not too close. Not too bad, not too far off, but he is chairman and CEO and founder of Gold Royalty Corporation. He took this company public, and now he's helping people learn how to build well through royalties and gold. So, I'm eager to learn a little bit about this. Welcome to show, David.
David Garofalo (00:37):
Thanks for having me on. I'm glad to be here, Tony.
Tony (00:40):
So, in the pre-show, I really enjoyed your story and your background and you; like so many of us, but I think yours even has an interesting twist because you're the son of immigrants. And, we haven't had too many of those on. We've had, Dr.Ming Wang, who came on from, China. He's an immigrant from China. Some who's parents moved up from Argentina, and they were able to build wealth after their parents came in. But, you also came as an immigrant, correct?
David Garofalo (01:06):
Well, my parents did in the 1950s. I was born in Toronto, Canada. But, my parents were escaping post World War II Italy, where there was very little economic opportunity. They were leading a subsistence lifestyle and they came to North America in order to try to establish themselves and build some wealth.
Tony (01:26):
And so, for those who maybe haven't studied World War II history and things like that; that was Mussolini over Italy. He was in conjunction with Hitler. They were the tag team in the European theater.
David Garofalo (01:39):
Yep. They were the fascist duo, and both of them met a very untimely passing at the end of World War II. But, there was quite a bit of damage in Europe. I mean, that was the theater for destruction in World War II. So, a lot of Europe was just destroyed and bombed out. Italy and Germany for example, were really the recipients of heavy, heavy bombing. So, the economic infrastructure there was very badly damaged. So, it was very difficult for people wanting to finish school and to then to find an opportunity to raise their families.
Tony (02:16):
So, how old were your parents when they actually came to America?
David Garofalo (02:20):
Well, my dad was 16 years old, and my mom came a few years later. They met in Canada, and she was 20 years old. So, they came relatively young, and they met each other right around the time they were both about 20 years old, and got married very shortly thereafter.
Tony (02:36):
Oh, wow. So, your dad- let me make sure I get the story here- so, he came to America as an immigrant after World War II; turmoil and everything. And, did he come by himself, or did he come with his grandpa parents or he was solo.
David Garofalo (02:49):
Yeah, his dad died in North Africa fighting for Italy and World War II. So, it was just him and his siblings and his mom left back in Italy, and they were barely just getting by. So, my dad's older brother and sisters; four of them had already immigrated; two of them to Australia, and two of them to Canada. So, he followed his two sisters to Canada who had established themselves over several years and he initially lived in their basement until he found a job and was able to save enough to buy his own home.
Tony (03:21):
Now, you said before too; in the pre-show; neither one of your parents finished- did they not finish high school? I know they didn't get secondary ed, but what was the level of education that they were able to receive?