Eric Sprott Holds 98 Percent of Fortune in Gold and Silver

Eric Sprott, 81, has kept 98 percent of his fortune in gold and silver since the 1980s. 6 billion. Sprott currently holds positions in 120 mining companies, concentrated in fewer than ten. 5 percent net royalty on future revenue.

Sprott began his career after graduating from Carleton University in 1965. He worked at Merrill Lynch, later joined a Canadian equity research firm, and purchased a seat on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1980 to start Sprott Securities. His first major precious-metals investment occurred around 2000 when he shorted equities and purchased gold and silver ahead of the dot-com market decline.

He later sold the brokerage operations and retained the asset-management division to focus on mining equities. Sprott evaluates deposits using metrics such as contained ounces, cutoff rates, and mine activity. He told Forbes he targets smaller companies whose assets he believes the market has undervalued.

His second-largest position is in Ontario-based Discovery Silver Corporation. Sprott first invested about $6 million in 2019, added another $22 million, and saw the stake reach $400 million after the company acquired a gold project in Ontario in January 2025.

Sprott has stated that silver prices could reach $200 or $300 an ounce and gold could reach $10,000. He cited ongoing government spending and currency issuance as factors supporting higher prices. The Silver Institute reported that global silver demand has exceeded supply for five consecutive years, driven in part by use in batteries, electronics, electric vehicles, and solar panels.