Blair Brandt
Brandt at an Everglades Foundation event at The Breakers, Palm Beach, FL in 2012
Born
Blair Brandt

1988 (age 35–36)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materDeerfield Academy
University of Richmond
Known forCo-Founder of Next Step Realty
Cast member, Next Step Realty: NYC on ABC Family, Animal Welfare Advocacy
SpouseMargit Weinberg (m 2017)
Children2
AwardsForbes 30 under 30 (2012) [1]

Blair Brandt (born January 11, 1988) is an American real estate entrepreneur, former reality television personality, animal welfare advocate, and political advisor.[2][3] He is the co-founder of Next Step Realty. Forbes listed Brandt in their annual 30 under 30 list, at the age of 23.[1]

In August 2015, Brandt began his role in ABC Family's docu-series Next Step Realty: NYC. In 2020, Brandt founded his own political consulting firm, The Brandt Group.[4]

Early life and education

Brandt was born in Manhattan, New York.[5] He grew up in Palm Beach, Florida and attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. Brandt completed his undergraduate education at the University of Richmond.[6]

Political engagement

A prominent ally of the Trump Administration,[7] Brandt was a leading Republican strategist as well as a top GOP fundraiser between 2017 and 2020.[8][9][10][11] Brandt served as the Florida Co-Chair for the Trump Victory Finance Committee 2020.[12][13] Brandt has also served as an advisor to Lara Trump.[14] Brandt has routinely weighed in on US-China relations, specifically as an advocate for a fundamental re-alignment or decoupling of economic ties.[15][16]

Real estate ventures

Brandt's first job was working for Budweiser in the breakage (broken bottle re-assembly) room and while he studied at University of Richmond he also ran a laundry business.[17]

Brandt started working as a realtor after he was cut from a Wall Street internship at Lazard Ltd.[17] He spent the summer working for an independent Florida realtor named Christian Angle. At the time he noticed a number of age related problems with the role. During his time with Angle servicing luxury sales clients, Brandt thought about providing the luxury service he observed to “kids right out of college who aren't there yet but might be in that category eventually”.[17]

After speaking to a number of friends about their realtor experiences in New York City, he noticed there could be an opportunity to assist young professionals in finding their first home in New York City.[5] "My friends were college graduates not getting good service," Brandt told Business Insider. In 2010, as a response to this deficit, Brandt co-founded The Next Step Realty.[17] Brandt and co-founder Belton Baker came up with the idea to provide an urban apartment-finding service to new graduates and wrote 35-page business plan overnight that resulted in $19,000 in venture capital from friends and family.[18] Some of the first few weeks of the company's operation were carried out from Brandt's University of Richmond dorm room.[1]

In July 2011, shortly after the foundation of the company, it was listed by CNN as one of the most promising dorm room startups.[19]

After the initial success of his company, Brandt acquired competitor Post Graduate Apartments in 2012.[20] At 23, Brandt was included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work in the real estate market.[1]

With a seed infusion of $100,000 from Nantucket & Palm Beach based angel investor Jason Briggs, Brandt moved to New York City in 2012 to turn his idea, then a website matching graduates with various approved realtors, into a full-service brokerage in the city.[17]

According to the Next Step Realty website, Brandt now serves as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board and has many active projects in coastal West Palm Beach, FL as a local developer.

Next Step Realty: NYC

In April 2015, it was announced that Brandt would appear in a new show focused on his firm Next Step Realty that would premiere on ABC Family, titled Next Step Realty: NYC.[21] The show premiered on August 11, 2015.[22][23] The show followed him and his employees as they build their real estate brokerage firm in NYC.[24] The idea for show started through an employee of Brandt's. "Truth be told, an intern of mine was at a family dinner which included some people from ABC Family", Brandt said in an interview.[25] According to Brandt, the show is "a story about startups and entrepreneurs, but it’s also a story about young people graduating from college or people that are newcomers to New York City moving here, following their dreams, renting and what goes into that as well.".[26] Executive Producer Danielle Rossen said of the show, "With this show, Blair and his team are renting apartments, but selling the lifestyle." In light of the show, New York Daily News called Brandt "The new face of real estate reality TV." Brandt said “You hear about all these young companies but you never actually get to see how it all goes down every day behind the scenes.” [27][28]

Animal welfare advocacy

On July 9, 2018, Brandt co-moderated a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House West Wing, in which commercial dog breeders, animal welfare activists, officials from the Trump Administration, Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Rep Lou Barletta (R-PA), Rep Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), First Family member Lara Trump, and other stakeholders met to discuss "raising the standards of care for dogs at large-scale commercial breeding operations", some of which are often to referred to by animal welfare activists as “puppy mills”.[29] Brandt was described by The Humane Society of the United States as an “animal welfare advocate.”

In January 2019, The Humane Society of the United States announced that they would be presenting Brandt with the “Humane Leader Award”, alongside Lara Trump and Pam Bondi, for his efforts to end Greyhound racing in the State of Florida.[30]

On February 8, 2019 in Palm Beach, FL, Brandt was presented with the Humane Leader Award by The Humane Society of the United States for his “commitment to the protection of Greyhounds in Florida.”[30]

Brandt received the award at a fundraiser which featured “GOP stars” and animal welfare advocates Lara Trump, Pam Bondi, and Matt Gaetz. The event was hosted by John Rakolta, who was nominated in May 2018 by President Donald Trump to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.[31]

The purpose of the evening was to “thank Brandt, a Palm Beach resident,” and fundraise to “re-home the thousands of greyhounds that will be displaced...including medical care for injured dogs, training and transportation...”[31]

According to The Palm Beach Post, Brandt “crafted and marshaled the campaign’s political and public relations strategy among a group of unlikely supporters: Republicans.” Brandt was also credited with "arranging media interviews with Lara Trump at Mar-a-Lago and urging sympathetic conservative lawmakers to write op-ed pieces for local newspapers.” [32]

Those efforts “resulted in 69 percent of Florida voters approving a constitutional amendment ...that will phase out dog racing by 2020.”[31]

On November 25, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law the PACT ACT, the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, which authorized the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies to prosecute malicious animal cruelty.[33][34] The Humane Society of the United States credited Brandt, alongside Lara Trump, with “championing this bill and helping to shepherd it into law."[35] Animal Wellness Action reported that Brandt and Lara Trump had encouraged President Trump to "put a capstone on our nation’s legal framework against animal cruelty."[36]

Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, Brandt advocated in the Washington Examiner on April 6, 2020 for the closures of Chinese wet markets and the dog and cat meat trade alongside voices including Lara Trump, Dr Anthony Fauci, Senator Lindsey Graham, and Kevin McCarthy. On April 8, 2020, The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture announced a plan to end dog and cat meat trade on May 8, 2020, citing public concern following COVID-19.[37]

Personal life

Brandt is the son of Laura Vitale and arts patron Laurence Brandt Levine. His father, Laurence Brandt Levine, a Princeton University graduate who became the first Chairman of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts, died in 2013.[38] At the age of 16, Brandt negotiated his parents' divorce, saving his mother thousands in lawyer fees.[39] Brandt began dating real estate agent Margit Weinberg,[40] which was showcased on Next Step Realty: NYC. In an interview with Sandy Kenyon, reflecting on the relationship being used as a storyline for the show, Brandt said "It's not easy. And I didn't want to originally" .[41] Brandt & Weinberg married, and became parents to a son in December 2016.[42] Brandt's full-time residence is in Palm Beach, FL.[43][10][11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Brennan, Morgan (December 19, 2011). "30 Under 30: Real Estate". Forbes.
  2. ↑ Zoledziowski, Anya (October 2, 2020). "Trump Allies Are Already Blaming His COVID-19 Diagnosis on China". Vice. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  3. ↑ Stapleton, Christine (February 15, 2020). "Trump raises $10 million at private dinner in Palm Beach". Palm Beach Post.
  4. ↑ Stapleton, Antonio Fins and Christine. "Trump to return to a Florida rattled by virus, but with election loss on his mind". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  5. 1 2 "The Next Step Realty: On the Up and Up". Quest Magazine. August 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Next Step CEO Blair Brandt on Bloomberg TV". Bloomberg. March 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ Markay, Lachlan. "Trump Allies: China Infected Trump With COVID-19". The Daily Beast.
  8. ↑ "CNN panned for suggesting DeSantis shouldn't take credit for 'booming' Florida during pandemic". Fox News.
  9. ↑ "GOP is being 'eaten alive' by Trump, election experts warn". Independent.co.uk.
  10. 1 2 "Trump holds lavish fundraiser at Palm Beach billionaire's home". Politico.
  11. 1 2 "Trump raises $10 million at private dinner in Palm Beach". Palm Beach Post.
  12. ↑ Bedard, Paul (June 22, 2020). "Boom: $27.2M May haul for GOP, with Trump campaign raising more than $810M". Washington Examiner.
  13. ↑ Stapleton, Christine (July 4, 2020). "Kim Guilfoyle tests positive two weeks after Mar-a-Lago visit". Palm Beach Post.
  14. ↑ Bedard, Paul (July 7, 2020). "Lara Trump: Broad coalition forming to close China's bat, cat, and dog meat markets".
  15. ↑ Zoledziowski, Anya (October 2, 2020). "Trump Allies Are Already Blaming His COVID-19 Diagnosis on China". Vice Media Group.
  16. ↑ Kephart, Tim (October 2, 2020). "Sen. Loeffler accuse China of infecting Trump with COVID". CBS46.com.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Pomorski, Chris (May 20, 2014). "Abercrombie and Rich: The Trials and Tribulations of Preppy Upstart Next Step Realty". The New York Observer.
  18. ↑ Laskey, Jen (July 1, 2015). "Taking the Next Step". Nantucket Magazine.
  19. ↑ "Top 6 Dorm Room Startups". CNN.
  20. ↑ Galante, Meredith (November 26, 2012). "Recent College Grads Launch A Real Estate Agency For An Untapped Market". Business Insider.
  21. ↑ "Next Step Realty NYC". IMDb.
  22. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (April 1, 2015). "ABC Family Ramps Up Docu-Series Slate with 3 Orders". Variety.
  23. ↑ Pedersen, Eric (April 1, 2015). "ABC Family Orders Three More Reality Series". Deadline Hollywood.
  24. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (April 1, 2015). "BC Family Orders Three Unscripted Series". The Hollywood Reporter.
  25. ↑ "CEO Blair Brandt Chats New ABC Family Docu-Series NEXT STEP REALTY: NYC, Premiering Tonight". Broadway World. August 11, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Reveals How Relationships, Competition And More Will Shake Up His Real Estate Office On ABC Family's Next Step Realty: NYCe". OK! Magazine.
  27. ↑ "Adweek How a Top TV News Producer Juggles 4 Shows at Once". AdWeek.
  28. ↑ "New show 'Next Step Realty: NYC' shows what it's really like to flog apartments in the Big Apple". NY Daily News.
  29. ↑ "A White House Meeting, Breeders and Other Stakeholders Agree On Need For Puppy Mill Reform". A Humane Nation.
  30. 1 2 "Celebrate the victory for greyhounds". The Humane Society of the United States.
  31. 1 2 3 "GOP stars Lara Trump, Pam Bondi, Matt Gaetz back greyhound adoptions". The Palm Beach Daily News.
  32. ↑ "GOP stars Lara Trump, Pam Bondi, Matt Gaetz back greyhound adoptions". The Palm Beach Post.
  33. ↑ "President Trump signs animal cruelty bill into law, making it a federal felony". ABC News.
  34. ↑ "Congress And President Say Cruelty Is Abhorrent, Illegal". Animal Wellness Action.
  35. ↑ "President Trump signs PACT Act; law will crack down on some of the worst animal cruelty crimes". The Humane Society of the United States.
  36. ↑ "Congress And President Say Cruelty Is Abhorrent, Illegal; It's Their Capacity to Suffer, and Their Value to Us, That Warrants Proscriptions Against Abuse". Animal Wellness Action.
  37. ↑ "Lara Trump: Broad coalition forming to close China's bat, cat, and dog meat markets". Washington Examiner.
  38. ↑ "Arts patron Laurence Brandt Levine dies". Palm Beach Daily News. 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  39. ↑ "30 Cities, 125 Brokers, Thousands of College Grads". California Real Estate Magazine.
  40. ↑ "The Next Reality-TV Shows You'll Be Shamelessly Addicted To". Glamour.
  41. ↑ "ABC Family's Next Step Realty NYC Looks to Pair Young Professionals with 1st Apartments". ABC7.
  42. ↑ Cain, Aine (March 30, 2017). "A startup CEO named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 shares his top 3 tips for managing work, life, and fatherhood". Business Insider.
  43. ↑ McGraw, Meridith (February 16, 2020). "Trump holds lavish fundraiser at Palm Beach billionaire's home". Politico.
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