Peter Brant

Peter Mark Brant, Sr. (born March 1, 1947) is an American industrialist,[3] as well as a magazine publisher, film producer, and art collector.[4] He is married to model Stephanie Seymour.[4]

Peter Brant
Born
Peter Mark Brant

(1947-03-01) March 1, 1947[1]
New York City, New York,
U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Colorado Boulder
OccupationChairman of White Birch Paper, Brant Publications, Brant Foundation
Net worth$500 million (in 2010)[2]
Spouse(s)
Sandra Simms
​
(m. 1969⁠–⁠1995)​

​
(m. 1995)​
Childrenwith Simms:
--Christopher Brant
--Ryan Brant (d. 2019)
--Kelly Brant
--Allison Brant
--Lindsay Brant
with Seymour:
--Peter Brant, Jr.
--Harry Brant (d. 2021)
--Lily Margaret Brant
--Dylan Andrews (stepson)
Websitewww.peterbrant.com

Early life and education

Brant was raised in Jamaica Estates, Queens,[4] the son of Lily and Murray Brant. Brant's father – who emigrated from a small town near the border of Romania and Bulgaria – co-founded the paper converter (primarily converting paper into newsprint) Brant-Allen Industries with his cousin H. Joseph Allen.[4] He is Jewish.[5] He has one sister, Irene Brant Zelinsky.[6][7] Brant was a childhood friend of Donald J. Trump.[8][9] Brant attended the University of Colorado but did not graduate instead leaving to work for his father's company.[4]

Career

Newsprint

Brant went to work at Brant-Allen Industries, a paper conversion company co-founded by his father, Murray Brant. In the early 1970s, Brant and a cousin, Joseph Allen — the son of Murray Brant's business partner — led the company into the manufacturing side of the business and expanded the company into paper mill (converting pulp into paper) ownership purchasing a mill in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec and partnering with the Washington Post and Dow Jones to purchase a mill in Ashland, Virginia.[4] In the early 2000s, as paper demand continued to decline, Brant embarked on a buying spree purchasing a second Quebec mill in 2004 for $205 million (from Enron) and a third Quebec mill in 2006 for $135 million.[4] In 2008, he bought out his partner and changed the name of the company to White Birch Paper Company. Also in 2008, he purchased SP Newsprint Co for $305 million, a newsprint manufacturer with operations in Oregon and Georgia.[4] The purchase gave Brant control of 22% of the North American newsprint market, second to AbitibiBowater with 43%.[4] Brant expanded SP Newsprint into paper recycling operating 23 recycling facilities through its SP Recycling unit.[10]

In a court filing around 2007, Brant said the ailing newsprint market and the recession had slashed his net worth to less than $500 million from $1.4 billion that year.[4]

In February 2010, White Birch Paper restructured under Chapter 11 proceedings, due to excessive debt and declining demand for newsprint. The company emerged from bankruptcy in January 2012 and closed its main pulp and paper mill in Quebec City, sending home more than 600 workers. White Birch owns two other mills in Quebec, Canada and one in Ashland, Virginia.[11] In 2012, Brant pledged a portion of his art collection as security to purchase White Birch Paper out of bankruptcy in partnership with Black Diamond Capital Management LLC for $94.5 million in cash and $78 million in debt.[12] Brant remains as CEO of White Birch Paper.[13]

In November 2011, SP Newsprint Co filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to excessive debt and declining demand for newsprint. SP Newsprint operates two mills in Dublin, Georgia and Newberg, Oregon and 23 recycling facilities.[10] In September 2012, SP Newsprint was purchased out of bankruptcy by SP Fiber Technologies LLC for an undisclosed amount.[14]

In May 2016, Brant merged the magazine Art in America with its principal competitor ARTnews. Artnet News reported his company announced that ARTnews would go to a quarterly publication schedule, down from monthly. The latter had run an article asking whether the Brant Foundation was a tax scam or an art investment vehicle.[15][16]

In May 2017, White Birch Paper announced that it would idle paper making operations at its Bear Island newsprint mill in Ashland, Virginia. The Bear Island mill produced 240,000 metric tons of newsprint annually.

In 2018, Penske Media Corporation, the parent company of Variety magazine, acquired ARTnews and Art in America from Brant.[17]

Brant Publications, Inc.

Brant is the owner and chairman of Brant Publications, Inc. (BPI), located in New York City, founded in 1984. BPI publishes three magazines:

  • Interview was founded by artist Andy Warhol and John Wilcock in late 1969. These interviews were usually unedited or edited in the eccentric fashion of Warhol's books and The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again. Brant Publications began publishing Interview shortly after Warhol's death in 1987. The magazine celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2010.[18]
  • The magazine Antiques is a monthly arts publication that focuses on architecture, interior design, and fine and decorative arts. Regular monthly columns include news on current exhibitions and art-world events, notes on collecting, and book reviews. The magazine was founded in 1922 and underwent a complete redesign in 2009.
  • Modern, was launched in 2009 and is a magazine devoted to design, decorative arts and architecture.[19][20]

Film producer

Brant's interest in art also led him into film production. He was a producer of L’Amour in 1973 and Andy Warhol's Bad in 1977. Brant was an executive producer of the award-winning films Basquiat (1996) and Pollock (2000).[21] Brant was also co-producer of the Peabody- and Emmy-award-winning PBS documentary, Andy Warhol: A Documentary (2006).[22] Brant was also a producer of The Homesman (2014).[23][24]

Art collection and the Brant Foundation
Main article: Brant Foundation

Brant is one of the world's Top 200 art collectors.[25] He bought his first pieces of art after turning an $8,000 investment into several hundred thousand dollars as a young man.[4] His first purchases according to The New York Times, included "a couple of Warhols and, later, a major Franz Kline.”[4] In 1976, Brant commissioned Andy Warhol to paint his cocker spaniel, Ginger. Warhol made two paintings of Ginger, as well as drawings. Brant is one of the largest collector's of Warhol's art.[26]

Brant is a member of the Advisory Council of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles named Brant to its board of trustees in December 2009.[27]

Brant's collection is on display to the public at the two locations of the Brant Foundation Art Study Center, in Greenwich, Connecticut and the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. His collection includes numerous works by Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, Dan Flavin, Glenn Ligon, and Cady Noland.[26][25] Brant is one of Basquiat's major collectors.[28] In 2020, he sold his Basquiat painting Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump (1982) to Ken Griffin for more than $100 million.[29]

Kentucky Derby and polo

Brant was a member of the partnership who owned Classic winner Swale, who won both the 1984 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes and was American Champion Three-Year-Old Colt that year.[30] In addition, Brant was responsible for bringing legendary stallion Mr. Prospector to Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. Mr. Prospector, who began his stud career in Florida in 1975, went on to be one of the most influential sires in the American Stud-Book since the first of his progeny began racing in 1978. Brant was the breeder of 1995 Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch. Thunder Gulch is the son of Gulch out of the mare Line of Thunder, who were both owned and bred by Brant.[31] In addition, Brant is an accomplished polo player and at one time was the highest-rated amateur player in the U.S. Brant is the co-founder of the Greenwich Polo Club, the Saratoga Polo Association,[32] and the Bridgehampton Polo Club.[33]

Personal life

Marriage

His first marriage was to Sandra "Sandy" Simms (born 1955). They met while attending the University of Colorado.[34] They divorced in 1995.[34] She later married writer Ingrid Sischy.[34]

On July 14, 1995, Brant married model Stephanie Seymour outside of Paris, with gallery owner Tony Shafrazi serving as best man at the ceremony.[35] In 2009, the couple filed for divorce, but subsequently reconciled in 2010.[35][36][37]

Children

Brant has five children from his first marriage to Sandra Simms (born 1955). Four of his children with Simms have worked for Brant companies: Christopher as president of White Birch; Ryan as director of Brant Publications, Kelly as online director Brant Publications; and Allison as director of the Brant Foundation.[4] His son Ryan Brant founded Take-Two Interactive at age 21, though ultimately left the company by 2007.[38] Ryan Brant died in March 2019, at the age of 47, due to cardiac arrest caused by aspiration.[38][39]

Brant and Seymour have two sons and one daughter together: Peter Brant, Jr. (born December 1993), Harry (1996-2021), and Lily (born October 27, 2004).[40] He has a stepson, Dylan Andrews, from Seymour's first marriage to guitarist Tom Andrews.[4] [41] Harry died in January 2021 as a result of a drug-overdose.[42]

Tax evasion

In 1990, Brant was investigated for tax evasion resulting from reportedly having his company pay for $1 million in personal expenditures. Brant pled guilty to charges of failing to keep records and was sentenced to three months in a federal prison and $200,000 in fines.[43][44]

References
  1. United States Public Record Number 266651146
  2. Christina Boyle (September 19, 2010). "Supermodel Stephanie Seymour's divorce to Peter Brant gets ugly; Three kids, $500M fortune at stake". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  3. "Peter Brant and Stephanie Seymour put their contemporary art collection on show" from The Art Newspaper
  4. Segal, David (January 23, 2010). "For Richer or for ... Not Quite as Rich". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  5. The Rise and Falling Out of Friends in Insider Trading Case
  6. Bloomberg: "Buy a Paper Mill Heiress’s Greenwich Mansion for $5.5 Million Irene Brant Zelinsky, whose family developed more than 1,400 acres in Greenwich, is moving on" By James Tarmy July 27, 2016
  7. Greenwich Time: "Lisa Beth (Berger) Zelinsky Obituary" July 31, 2008
  8. "Donald Trump Biography: Before the Presidency". Biographics. May 16, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  9. Moment Magazine: "Growing Up Trump - How Donald Trump’s Youthful Encounters with Jews Helped Shape the Man, and President, He is Today." BY MARC FISHER May 16, 2017
  10. Reuters: "Peter Brant's SP Newsprint files bankruptcy" By Jonathan Stempel November 15, 2011
  11. News & Tach: "White Birch files for bankruptcy" February 25, 2010
  12. Bloomberg: "Baron Brant Pledges Warhols to Revive Family Business" By Miles Weiss and Katya Kazakina September 28, 2012
  13. PRN Newswire: "BD White Birch Investment LLC Completes Acquisition of White Birch Paper Company" September 18, 2012
  14. Waste 360: "SP Fiber Buys Paper Recycling Firm SP Newsprint" by Allan Gerlat September 11, 2012
  15. https://news.artnet.com/people/peter-brant-assumes-control-magazines-506471
  16. Jerry Saltz (January 12, 2015). "Is the Brant Foundation a Tax Scam or an Art Investment Vehicle?". artnet News. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  17. "PMC Buys ARTnews, Art in America". Variety. November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  18. "Interview Magazine Celebrates 40th Anniversary" from The Wall Street Journal (February 2010)
  19. Publishing Executive: "Brant Publications Launches MODERN Magazine" June 12, 2009
  20. Modern Magazine on-line
  21. Variety: "Review: ‘Pollock’" September 7, 2000
  22. Variety: "Review: ‘Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film'" August 31, 2006
  23. Deadline: "Hailee Steinfeld Joins Tommy Lee Jones Frontier Pic 'The Homesman'" April 10, 2013
  24. Variety: "Cannes Film Festival: Early Pics Include Tommy Lee Jones’ ‘The Homesman,’ ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’" April 16, 2014
  25. "Top 200 Collectors: Peter M. Brant". ARTnews.com. September 10, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  26. Silva, Horacio (January 27, 2020). "Peter Brant Is Still Shaking Up the Art World". Architectural Digest. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  27. Museum Publicity: "The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Elects Trustees Peter M. Brant, Steven T. Mnuchin, and Victor Pinchuk" December 21, 2009
  28. Lerma, Martin (June 4, 2020). "A Jean-Michel Basquiat Painting Just Sold for $100 Million". Robb Report. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  29. Block, Fang. "Ken Griffin Buys a Jean-Michel Basquiat for More Than $100 Million". Barron's. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  30. "Another Generation Takes the Helm, 1972-2015 - Claiborne Farm". Claiborne Farm. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  31. Kentucky Derby, Derby History, Thunder Gulch
  32. Palm Beach Daily News: "Saratoga Celebrates Polo Club's Revival" July 19, 1979
  33. Hamptons Online: "The Sport of Kings Returns To Bridgehampton Polo Field" by Edward Callaghan July 21, 2009
  34. "Meet the godparents of Elton John's new baby". Evening Standard UK. January 12, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  35. Holson, Laura M. (August 20, 2010). "Brant vs. Brant: Divorce Celebrity Style". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 23, 2020. It’s all a great contrast to the couple’s marriage 15 years earlier. Tony Shafrazi, the art dealer and a longtime friend of the duo, was best man at their 1995 wedding in a chapel on an estate outside Paris.
  36. Los Angeles Times: "Stephanie Seymour, husband Peter Brant call off divorce thanks to Navajo blanket" by Emily Christianson April 13, 2011
  37. Friedman, Debra; Writer, Staff (September 21, 2010). "Brant-Seymour divorce battle ends with reconciliation". GreenwichTime. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  38. "Sotheby's to Offer Collection of Take-Two Founder Ryan Brant, Led by a Selection of More Than 25 Works by KAWS | Auctions News". TheValue.com. September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  39. "Ryan A. Brant, 47, Art Publisher & Software Entrepreneur". Antiques and The Arts Weekly. April 3, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2020. Ryan A. Brant passed away at age 47 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Palm Beach of cardiac arrest caused by aspiration on Saturday, March 23, 2019.
  40. New York Times: "The New Princes of the City (There’s Even a Harry)" By WILLIAM VAN METER June 20, 2012
  41. "Harry Brant, Son of Stephanie Seymour and Peter Brant, Dead at 24". People.com.
  42. CNN, Chloe Melas. "Harry Brant, son of model Stephanie Seymour, has died". CNN. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  43. Forbes: Take Who? "Take-Two (Interactive designs a very profitable father-and-son game)" by Neil Weinberg April 12, 2004
  44. "New York Magazine". July 18, 1994.
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