Is Emma Navarro’s Father a Billionaire? All You Need to Know About the American Philanthropist Who Owns a Tennis Tournament

American tennis star Emma Navarro is not the only one from her family who has a tennis connection. Her father Ben Navarro has also made his mark in the sport by investing in tennis tournaments on the WTA and ATP tour through his investment company. Not only this, the Charleston billionaire also brought the Volvo Car Open in 2018 and even made a bid to buy an NFL franchise.

Apart from his sports interests, Navarro also has a philanthropic side and has set up a scholarship fund for Charleston students.

Panthers bid, mental awareness center, and providing education

Ben was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and was one of eight children of Frank Navarro, a college football coach. He graduated from Princeton High School when his father was coaching the Princeton University football team. Ben Navarro worked for Goldman Sachs for three years and then moved to Citigroup in 1988.

There, he became the vice president but left the company in 1997 and founded his own venture, Sherman Financial Group, a global diversified investment services company. Working in the financial industry helped him gain an understanding of investment opportunities and expand his portfolio. Tennis was a natural conclusion of his experience.

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One of the first investments Ben Navarro made was by purchasing a small bank and renaming it as Credit One Bank in 2001. After the purchase and some efforts, the bank became one of the top Visa credit card issuers in the country and that is how his business earned the name, “Philanthropic Business of the Year – Private”. In 2004, he moved his Sherman Financial Group to Charleston. After this, Navarro expanded his business in two other industries.

One of them was the hospitality industry, where he founded Beemok Hospitality Collection to launch various properties. And of course, then came the sport that his daughter was a part of, tennis. Navarro then made a splash when he brought the Volvo Car Open in 2018 through his company Beemok Sports LLC. But he didn’t stop there. In the same year, he pursued a bid for NFL side Carolina Panthers.

In an interview with The Post and Courier in 2018, he revealed the reason behind his interest in the Panthers. Navarro, who was a lineman and wrestler at Princeton (N.J.) High School while his father was a coach at Princeton University, said, “I grew up on the sidelines. I played football and there are many things I love about the sport. And the fact that the team was here in the Carolinas, I felt like it needed the right steward and I thought I could be that person.”

He ultimately lost the bid to American hedge fund manager David Tepper who bought the Panthers for $2.2 billion. The failed bid still brought a lot of attention to Navarro and his Sherman Financial Group. In 2022, he bought the Western and Southern Open, which was a women’s and men’s tennis tournament joint on the WTA and ATP tour.

Moving away from sport, Navarro has two important ventures. In 2008 he founded Meeting Street School, a private-public partnership, after the Charleston County School District reached out to him for help with failing schools. The nonprofit network of public/private partnerships provides education for low-income and minority students, with features such as two teachers per classroom, an extended school day and school year, and in-house therapists and social workers.

Talking about the Meeting Street Schools, he told The Post and Courier, “Everyone should have an opportunity; not a guarantee, but an opportunity — and a fair one — to be successful.” Navarro’s service to the community extends beyond education.

In 2020 Navarro’s BEEMOK Family Foundation launched mental wellness center, Modern Minds, in partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina. The center aims to change the way anxiety and depression are treated by not only offering patients traditional therapy but also pairing each individual with a wellness mentor. Navarro’s interest in philanthropy is evident but he has a vested interest in tennis.

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Emma Navarro reveals her father’s intentions for tennis

Ben Navarro always had an interest in the sport even though he never made a career in it. But he made sure his kids became a part of it. In an interview with Charleston Mag, Emma Navarro revealed how her father loved tennis and wanted it to become a family sport. She also shared that he made her two older brothers also play tennis and then she joined in later as well. Emma added, “As soon as I was old enough and strong enough to hold a racket, I was out there on the court with them.”

On the personal side of things, Ben Navarro is married to Kelly Navarro and the couple have four children. Both of their daughters, Emma and Meggie Navarro play tennis, with the former flourishing right now.

It was her dad who supported her the most when it came to tennis. Navarro added that her father got him the right training and coaching whenever needed and always stood in the corner for her.

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