Brian Benjamin Biography, Age, Career, Marital Status, Salary, and Net Worth.

Who is Brian Benjamin?

Brian A. Benjamin is a prominent American politician and businessman who served as lieutenant governor of New York from September 9, 2021, to April 12, 2022, after being appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul. As a member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the New York State Senator from the 30th district from June 5, 2017, up to September 9, 2021.

Brian a political progressive was first elected to the New York State Senate in a May 2017 special election. From 2017 to 2021, he represented New York’s 30th State Senate district. In his Senatorial tenure, he served as the senior assistant majority leader of the Senate and as chair of the Senate Committee on Budget and Revenue.
On April 12, 2022, he was arrested after being indicted on charges of bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and two counts of falsification of records. He has pleaded guilty to all of the charges. On that day he resigned from his position as lieutenant governor.

How Old is Brian Benjamin?

He is 45 years old as of April 2022. Having been born on December 9, 1976, in Manhattan, New York, U.S. Benjamin shares his birthdate with celebrities such as; Kendall Vertes, Caleb Finn, Jasmine Chiswell, Charm Norris, Deji Olatunji, and many more.

Brian Benjamin Family

Who are Brian Benjamin’s Parents?

He was born to Alvin (Father) and Yvonne (Mother)

Does Brian Benjamin have Siblings?

There is no news on the internet regarding whether he has siblings or was born as the only child. In case of news regarding this matter, we will update it here as soon as possible.

Brian Benjamin Education

He received his education at Brown University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in public policy. And a Master of Business Administration from Havard Business School.

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Brian Benjamin Marital Status

He is married to the love of his life Cathleen Benjamin.

Brian Benjamin Kids

He has two kids with his wife Cathleen. Two daughters by the names of Caroline and Olivia.

Brian Benjamin Career

A Business Career

Brian interned in the office of Bill Lynch & Associates. He is an alumni-elected trustee of Brown University. He spent three years as an investment advisor at Morgan University. Benjamin was an early supporter of Barack Obama‘s presidential campaign in 2007. He became a managing partner at Genesis Companies, a minority business enterprise building affordable housing in Harlem in 2010. He has helped steer development and repair work to as many vendors as possible. Also, he was involved with partnerships with First Corinthians Baptist Church in creating the Dream Centre on 119th and the Hope Centre on 114th.

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He became the Chair of Manhattan Community Board 10 in 2016, in Central Harlem in Manhattan. When he was the managing director of the Genesis Companies real estate firm in Harlem in 2017, and at the same time on the verge of becoming the New York State Senate Democratic nominee. His firm was sued by its co-investor in a legal dispute over an alleged scheme to divert revenue from a fire sale by Abyssinian Development to the investors of 31 properties. A Manhattan Supreme Court judge issued a preliminary injunction, thereby freezing the assets until the dispute was settled. Genesis Companies denied the allegations, and the case went to arbitration.

A New York Senate Career

New York State Senator Bill Perkins ran for and won a vacant seat on the New York City Council in 2017. Benjamin then ran to succeed Perkin in Harlem’s District 30 in the NY State Senate. Three candidates who were seeking the Democratic nomination–district leaders Rev. Al Taylor, John Ruiz, and activist Joyce Johnson–wrote a letter criticizing New York County Chairman Keith L. T. Wright, a close ally of Benjamin, accusing him of “voter suppression” in his bid to install Benjamin in office. Critics alleged that the process was controlled by Benjamin’s allies, including the Manhattan Democratic Party chairman. Benjamin won the Democratic nomination receiving 170 out of 263 votes (63%) at a convention in March. In the May 24, 2017, special election, the Democratic candidate Benjamin, defeated Republican Dawn Simmons and Reform candidate Ruben Dario Vargas with over 91% of the vote.

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A 2017 to 2018 Session

The district Benjamin represented in the Senate covered most of Central Harlem and included parts of the neighborhoods of East Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Morning side Heights, Washington Heights, the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side, and Yorkville in Manhattan. Shortly after his election to the State Senate in July 2017, the CEO of Benjamin’s former employer. Genesis Companies filed a “reportable business relationship” form with the New York State lobbying and ethics watchdog panel (the Joint Commission on Public Ethics).

He is known as a political progressive. One of his first campaign promises was to seek to close Rikers Island. Therefore he introduced a bill to close Rikers in three years. He was also a co-sponsor of bills to reform discovery, end cash bail, restore the voting rights of parolees, and end solitary confinement, many of which passed once the Democrats retook the majority. During his campaign for the State Senate, he campaigned against the rebranding of Harlem as Soha by real estate firms. Brian sponsored a bill to divest New York’s Public Pension fund from private prisons. This bill helped push Comptroller DiNapoli, the sole fiduciary of the fund, to divest.

A 2019 to 2020 Session

Benjamin in December 2018, was named chair of the Revenue and Budget Subcommittee. In this position, he focused on divesting public and private banks from private for-profit prisons, therefore sponsoring a bill that would push New York State-chartered banks. The bill passed the Senate in the 2019 and 2020 sessions and was part of a nationwide movement that pushed many of the largest private banking institutions to drop their investments.

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The 2019 session also saw the passage of housing reform legislation, including Benjamin’s bill to protect and keep Rent Stabilized apartments affordable. In 2019 also, he championed a bill that would have allowed felons who had completed their sentences to serve on juries. During the 2020 session, he sponsored and passed the Rainy Day Fund bill, that allowed New York City to set aside funds in a revenue stabilization fund. Benjamin in December 2020, joined other senators in announcing the introduction of legislation that significantly limited police no-knock warrants to only the most severe circumstances and banned their use for drug searches.

A 2021 to 2022 Session

Benjamin in January 2021, was named chair of the Committee on Revenue and Budget. In January 2021 also, he proposed a bill to make it easier for released ex-convicts to obtain a state-issued ID when they leave jail. He also sponsored a bill to change parole laws, so that parole violations such as testing positive for drugs, failing to report, and failing to notify of a change in address would not lead to incarceration. The New York Daily News reported n January 2021 that Benjamin was earning up to $50,000 a year as a board member of NextPoint, a company led by a Wall Street executive. During this time, he served as the Senate’s senior assistant majority leader.

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A 2021 NYC Comptroller Campaign

He ran for the Democratic nomination for New York City comptroller in 2021. He ran against Democratic primary entrepreneur non-profit founder, and former US Marine Zach Iscol, City Councilmember Brad Lander, State Senator Kevin Parker, and Assemblymember David Weprin. As of February 16, 2021, he was one of three candidates who had qualified for matching funds. Brad Lander won the primary election, while Benjamin received 11.6% of the vote.

A Lieutenant Governor of New York Career

He was appointed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul to the position of lieutenant governor of New York on August 26, 2021. On September 9, 2021, he was sworn in so that a special election to fill the vacancy in his State Senate seat could be held concurrently with the November general election. He is the second Black lieutenant governor in the history of New York. Following his swearing-in, he stated that he had reimbursed his campaign account for a large payment that was made to an event venue in October 2018.

Two months after he became lieutenant governor. A real estate developer who steered campaign contributions toward his failed bid for New York City comptroller was indicted. The New York Times reported in March 2022, that the FBI was investigating whether he played a role in funneling fraudulent contributions to his 2021 campaign for New York City Comptroller. He was arrested on April 12, 2022, on bribery charges for alleged campaign finance fraud committed during his tenure as a Manhattan state senator.

A Television Career

He appeared in 2014 on Oprah Winfrey Network’s reality television show Love in the City. As the boyfriend of a woman who, three years later (when he was a State Senate candidate). Alleged that he stole some items from her.