Monty Bennett

Monty J. Bennett is an American businessman who founded and is the chairman and CEO of Ashford Inc., a publicly-traded hospitality real estate company, listed on the NYSE American as AINC.

Monty Bennett
NationalityAmerican
EducationBS, MBA
Alma materCornell University
OccupationBusiness executive
EmployerAshford Inc.
TitleChairman and Chief Executive Officer
Political partyRepublican Party
Board member ofGlobal Hotel Network and Texans for Education Reform

Early life and education

Monty Bennett grew up in Houston, Texas. After high school he earned a bachelor of science degree with distinction from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in 1988[1] and an MBA from Cornell University's Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management in 1989.[2]

Career

Ashford provides services to real estate and hospitality firms.[3] Ashford is the advisor to two real estate investment trusts (REITs): Ashford Hospitality Trust and Braemar Hotels & Resorts, which combined own 120 hotels.[4] Bennett's 2015 annual compensation from Ashford was $6.65 million.[5]

In 1989, Bennett co-founded and joined Remington Hotels, a hotel company co-owned by Archie Bennett Jr., his father.[1] Bennett was the CEO of Ashford Hospitality Trust from its founding until 2017, and he remains the firm's chairman.[6] He was CEO of Braemar Hotels & Resorts until 2016 and since 2013 has remained its chairman.[7]

Bennett has received industry awards,[4] has run the closing bell of the New York Stock exchange several times, and has served as a panelist at a Milken Institute global conference.[3] He also serves on the advisory boards of the Global Hotel Network and Texans for Education Reform.[4]

Politics

Bennett owns property with, and is a supporter of U.S. Congressman Lance Gooden (R-TX).[8] Bennett is also a contributor to the national Republican party, giving over $125,000 in 2019.[9]

Before they knew each other, Gooden helped Bennett with a dispute with a regional water district in 2011, supporting legislation that would help stop a proposed water pipeline from going through Bennett's Texas ranch property.[8] Bennett spent over $235,000 of his own money to support the election of two Tarrant Regional Water District board members, who opposed the plan.[10] The dispute was eventually settled out of court.[11]

Paycheck Protection Program funds during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic

In the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Ashford laid off or furloughed 95 percent of its 7,000 workers by late March. In addition, one-third of the company's salaried staff was laid off permanently. Bennett forfeited 25% of his 2019 earned bonus, cut his own salary by 20% and later taking his reduced salary in stock only.[12]

Bennett's companies were the largest known recipient of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds, applying for $126 million in PPP funds through multiple loans and receiving at least $56 million.[13][14][15] Ashford later pledged to return the aid.[15]

Personal life

Bennett is married and has four children. He owns a 2,000 acre ranch in east Texas, a portion of which has been his family for three generations.[16] On the property are exotic deer, ibex, gemsbok, sable antelope, red kangaroos, and Barasingha deer.[17]

Bennett and his companies support organizations including The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Metrocrest Services, the S.M. Wright Foundation, and the Special Olympics.[18]

See also

References
  1. "SCHEDULE 14A - ASHFORD HOSPITALITY PRIME, INC". United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
  2. "Monty Bennett". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  3. "ASHFORD CHAIRMAN & CEO, MONTY J. BENNETT, TO PRESENT AT 2016 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE" (PDF). Ashford, Inc.
  4. "Monty J. Bennett". www.globalhotelnetwork.com. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  5. "The 100 highest-paid CEOs in Dallas-Fort Worth". The Dallas Morning News. July 22, 2016.
  6. "Bennett, Monty J." The Wall Street Transcript. 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  7. "Ashford Hospitality Prime Rebranding to Braemar Hotels & Resorts | Nareit". www.reit.com. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  8. Root, Jay; Svitek, Patrick (May 16, 2018). "Lance Gooden's biggest donor in the Texas Legislature is now spending big to get him into Congress. The two go way back". The Texas Tribune.
  9. https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=monty+bennett&order=desc&sort=A
  10. Hanna, Bill (July 19, 2014). "Dallas businessman donated more than $235,000 to Tarrant Regional Water District candidates". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  11. https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article152686639.html
  12. "Major hotel executive: "I've just cut 95% of my staff"". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  13. "SEC Filings Public Companies Receiving SBA PPP Loans Under the CARES Act". FactSquared. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  14. https://nypost.com/2020/05/04/ashford-hotel-group-pledges-to-return-coronavirus-aid-slams-feds/
  15. Stone, Madeline. "Everything we know about Monty Bennett, the Trump megadonor whose hotel conglomerate is returning its PPP funds after backlash". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  16. "Villain or victim? How Dallas hotelier Monty Bennett became PPP's face of corporate greed". Dallas News. 2020-07-05. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  17. Mauldin, John. "Easy Money Will Lead To Bubbles - How to Profit From Them". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  18. "Monty Bennett: Ashford's Driving Force". Nareit. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
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