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Ben Navarro

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Ben Navarro
Born
Benjamin W. Navarro

1962 or 1963 (age 60–61)
Williamstown, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Rhode Island (1984)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder and CEO, Sherman Financial Group
SpouseKelly Navarro
Children4, including Emma Navarro
ParentFrank Navarro

Benjamin W. Navarro (born 1962 or 1963) is an American billionaire businessman, the founder and chief executive officer of Sherman Financial Group, LLC, one of the largest buyers of consumer debt in the United States,[1] and the owner of Credit One Bank, a bank specializing in credit cards for borrowers with low credit scores. He now also has several investments in Charleston real estate and sports. As of July 2024, he has an estimated net worth of US$1.5 billion according to Forbes.[2] While his companies have been criticized for aggressive debt collection practices, he is credited for helping transform the once small and fragmented business of collecting credit card debt into a multibillion-dollar industry.[3]

Early life

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Navarro was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, one of eight children of Frank Navarro, a college football coach for Williams College who posed for the Norman Rockwell painting The Recruit. He grew up in Westerly and Chariho, Rhode Island. He is of Italian descent through his father; his grandparents arrived to the U.S. from Italy, entering via Ellis Island.[4] He lived in Princeton, New Jersey and graduated from Princeton High School, when his father was coaching the Princeton University football team.[5][6][7][8]

Navarro earned a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Rhode Island in 1984.[9] While in university, he created a "student VIP" card, which he sold to businesses.[6]

Career

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Navarro started his career at Chemical Bank, where he worked for two years making loans to banks after completing a credit-training program. Navarro then worked for Goldman Sachs for three years, where he worked on whole loans and agency mortgage-backed securities. In 1988, he joined Citigroup, where he rose to vice president and co-head of mortgage sales and trading, in charge of residential mortgage purchases and securitizations.[10][5]

He left Citigroup in 1997, and in 1998, he founded Sherman Financial Group.[10] In 2005, Sherman acquired First National Bank of Marin and renamed it Credit One Bank, now a major credit card issuer focused on subprime borrowers.[11]

In 2021, Navarro founded Beemok Hospitality Collection, a hospitality company consisting of hotel, restaurant, and entertainment properties in the Southeast. It acquired Charleston Place, the largest hotel in Charleston at 434 rooms, in October 2021.[12]

Sports investments

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Navarro owns the Live To Play Tennis Club in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, which has hosted three USTA national junior tennis championships, and six International Tennis Federation women's pro circuit tournaments.[13][14]

In 2018, he was a bidder for the Carolina Panthers NFL sports franchise. He lost to David Tepper.[6]

In September 2018, he acquired Charleston Tennis LLC, owners of the Charleston Open women's tennis event.

In 2022, Navarro's Beemok Sports bought the rights to the Cincinnati Open.[15]

Personal life

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Ben Navarro is married to Kelly; they have four children and live in Charleston, South Carolina.[6] Their daughter, Emma Navarro played tennis for the University of Virginia. Another daughter, Meggie currently plays tennis there. Emma has a career high WTA singles ranking of No. 20, achieved on March 18, 2024, and won the NCAA division 1 women's singles title on May 28, 2021 as a freshman.[10]

In 2021, Ben Navarro contributed $500,000 to a political action committee (PAC) supporting Tim Scott.[16] In 2023, he contributed $5 million to the PAC.[17]

Philanthropy

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Navarro's philanthropic ventures are focused on education and mental wellness.

In 2008, he founded Meeting Street Schools, a South Carolina-based network of one private and three public elementary and middle schools serving over 1,800 students of an under-resourced demographic.[18]

In December 2020, Navarro announced the Meeting Street Scholarship Fund wherein he pledged to supplement the cost of higher education for any Charleston County high school students who also qualified for the Pell grant and the State's LIFE scholarship, ensuring college opportunities for hundreds of South Carolina high school graduates each year.[19][20] Since inception, the Meeting Street Scholarship Fund has expanded to an additional 10 South Carolina counties and has awarded $20 million in scholarship dollars to over 500 students. In 2023, the Meeting Street Scholarship Fund announced its aim to expand the initiative to all 46 South Carolina counties which would impact over 2,000 students and amount to $42 million in scholarship dollars.[21]

In 2020, in partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina, Navarro founded Modern Minds, a mental wellness center that uses holistic health strategies to help adults living with anxiety or depression.[22]

In 2022, Navarro funded extensive renovations to Credit One Stadium, a 20-year-old city-owned facility, as a gift to the City of Charleston.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Surane, Jennifer (December 5, 2017). "The Strange Case of the Look-Alike Credit Cards". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019.
  2. ^ "Ben Navarro". Forbes. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  3. ^ Shifflett, Shane; Scheck, Justin (April 7, 2021). "Most Big Debt Collectors Backed Off During the Pandemic. One Pressed Ahead". The Wall Street Journal.
  4. ^ Hartsell, Jeff (October 20, 2018). "Meet Ben Navarro. He bid for NFL team, owns Volvo Car Open and is changing schools". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Hartsell, Jeff (October 20, 2018). "Meet Ben Navarro. He bid for NFL team, owns Volvo Car Open and is changing schools". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Newton, David (April 12, 2018). "Potential Panthers owner Navarro is a low-profile billionaire". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023.
  7. ^ Igoe, Stephen (February 16, 2018). "Getting to know Panthers owner candidate Ben Navarro". 247Sports. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Person, Joseph; Peralta, Katherine; Rothacker, Rick (March 16, 2018). "Billionaire's row: A deep look at the potential bidders for the Carolina Panthers". WBTV. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  9. ^ "URI's College of Business to hold Career Day conference, Oct. 28". University of Rhode Island. October 20, 2016.
  10. ^ a b c KAUR, ISHMEET (January 19, 2024). "Is Emma Navarro's Father a Billionaire? All You Need to Know About the American Philanthropist Who Owns a Tennis Tournament". EssentiallySports.
  11. ^ "Community Reinvestment Act Performance Evaluation" (PDF). Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 8, 2023.
  12. ^ Williams, Emily (January 8, 2022). "Charleston Place owner share first details about 'multi-million-dollar' renovations". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  13. ^ Beck, James (September 19, 2018). "Charleston billionaire Ben Navarro buys Volvo Car Open women's tennis event". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "Home - LTP Tournaments". LTP. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  15. ^ Hartsell, Jeff (August 12, 2022). "Charleston's Ben Navarro buys Cincinnati pro tennis tournament". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  16. ^ ISENSTADT, ALEX (August 9, 2021). "GOP megadonors flock to Tim Scott, building 2024 buzz". Politico.
  17. ^ Schwartz, Brian (July 21, 2023). "Peltz, Druckenmiller, Navarro give big to Tim Scott PACs as DeSantis falters". CNBC.
  18. ^ "Our Schools". Meeting Street Schools. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  19. ^ Hicks, Brian (December 16, 2020). "Ben Navarro to give $20K a year to Charleston high school grads to help pay for college". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  20. ^ "Editorial: Navarros' gift could be life-changing, for our entire community". The Post and Courier. December 17, 2020. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  21. ^ Coe, Kenya (July 27, 2023). "Meeting Street fund to expand college tuition help to all 46 SC counties". The Post and Courier.
  22. ^ Sausser, Lauren (September 21, 2020). "SC businessman Ben Navarro and MUSC launch new approach to mental health treatment". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  23. ^ "The Renovation". Credit One Stadium. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
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