Ben Navarro

Benjamin W. Navarro (born 1962/63) is an American businessman, and the founder and chief executive officer of Sherman Financial Group, one of the largest buyers of consumer debt in the United States, and the owner of Credit One Bank, a bank specializing in credit cards for borrowers with low credit scores. He established Beemok Hospitality Collection, a Charleston-based luxury hospitality company consisting of hotel, restaurant, and entertainment properties, and is the owner and operator of multiple tennis tournaments, including the Charleston Open and Cincinnati Open.

Early life

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; his grandparents arrived to the U.S. from Italy, entering via Ellis Island. He lived in Princeton, New Jersey, and graduated from Princeton High School, when his father was coaching the Princeton University football team.

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

Career

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.

Sherman Financial Group

Navarro left Citigroup in 1997, and in 1998, he founded Sherman Financial Group. In 2005, Sherman acquired First National Bank of Marin and renamed it Credit One Bank. It is now a major credit card issuer, offering a range of cards, including some for subprime borrowers, through Visa, American Express, and Mastercard. Navarro has been credited for helping transform the once small and fragmented business of collecting credit card debt into a multibillion-dollar industry. In 2011 and 2014, his companies were criticized for aggressive debt collection practices; however in 2024, the companies underwent 54 regularly scheduled regulatory examinations, as well as a COVID-specific assessment, with zero violations.

Beemok Hospitality Collection

In 2021, Navarro founded Beemok Hospitality Collection, a Charleston-based luxury 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. Additional properties include Sorelle, The Riviera, Credit One Stadium, and The Cooper.

American Gardens is a community park under development by Navarro and Beemok Hospitality in Charleston. When finished, it will be framed by 80 crepe myrtles, include two large fountains, and a lawn surrounded by oak trees

BHC will fund the day-to-day operations and maintenance of American Gardens with future programming that could include free movie nights, jazz concerts, and book readings.

In March 2024, the State Ports Authority (SPA) in Charleston unanimously approved selling Navarro Union Pier, a 65-acre site that functioned as a cruise ship terminal and concrete parking lot. The SPA stated its "faith" in Navarro to redevelop the site into a green space with residential development that included affordable housing. The deal is expected to close in 2027.

Sports & Entertainment investments

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.

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

In September 2018, he acquired Charleston Tennis LLC, owners of the Charleston Open women's tennis event. In April 2025, it was announced that the Charleston Open would start paying equal prize money to women and mend starting in 2026. This made the tournament the first standalone WTA 500 tournament to do so.

In 2021, Charleston Tennis, LLC announced a new title sponsorship with Credit One Bank, renaming the tournament the Credit One Charleston Open. The following year, Navarro funded a renovation of the Credit One Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina, as a philanthropic gift to the city. The project expanded the stadium's seating capacity from 7,500 to 11,000 and introduced many modern amenities.

In 2022, Navarro's Beemok Sports & Entertainment bought the rights to the Cincinnati Open.

Personal life

Ben Navarro is married to Kelly; they have four children and live in Charleston, South Carolina. Their daughter, Emma Navarro is a professional tennis player who currently plays on the WTA Tour. Navarro teaches a course on intentionality in the School of Business at the College of Charleston.

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

Philanthropy

In 2008, Navarro 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.

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. 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 reach over 2,000 students and amount to $42 million in scholarship dollars.

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.

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navarro, Benjamin W
1960s births
American billionaires
American chief executives of financial services companies
American financial company founders
American people of Italian descent
Businesspeople from Charleston, South Carolina
Citigroup people
Goldman Sachs people
Living people
Businesspeople from Princeton, New Jersey
People from Williamstown, Massachusetts
Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni
University of Rhode Island alumni