#1318

Ben Navarro

United States 63 years old Self-Made

Overview

Source of Wealth
Investments
Residence
Charleston, South Carolina

Biography

The former Citigroup banker cofounded Sherman Financial Group in 1998 with fellow billionaire Brett Hildebrand and built it into a credit card and debt collection empire.

One of Sherman's key assets is the Las Vegas-based lender Credit One, which says it has doled out more than 18 million credit cards to date.

Despite a nearly identical name and logo to the better known Capital One Bank, Navarro's firm is entirely separate and caters mainly to low-credit borrowers.

Since 2021, the Charleston-based billionaire has spent more than $350 million buying up property around the city, including a stadium and historic hotel.

Navarro's daughter, Emma Navarro, is one of the top-ranked tennis players in the U.S.

Navarro has spent over $300 million to buy two professional tennis tournaments, in Cincinnati and Charleston; Credit One now sponsors both.

About

Navarro tried to buy the Carolina Panthers in 2018, but lost out to hedge fund mogul David Tepper.

His late father Frank Navarro (d. 2021) was an Ivy League football coach and the star of the Norman Rockwell painting, "The Recruit."