Kenneth Bryan Dart (born 1955) is a Cayman Islands-based billionaire businessman and investor.
[6][7] The company made metal rulers, military dog tags and a marble game for kids.
[11] The family foundation has made more than $100 million in donations to organizations focused on community and health services as well as STEM education.
[3][13] Ken moved his residence to the Cayman Islands and in 1994 converted what was the beachfront West Indian club into his home.
[16][17] Dart is an entrepreneur and investor involved in various industries including real estate and finance.
[14] Dart Enterprises is a group of companies that holds Cayman Islands real estate and operates businesses.
[14] In 1995, Dart purchased the Coral Caymanian Hotel and its 236 acres of land, which was developed into the town of Camana Bay.
[18] Camana Bay’s master plan includes many phases that will take multiple decades to complete on the 685-acre site close to Seven Mile Beach.
[2] Other Dart properties include: The New York Times has described Dart as an investor in New York financial district skyscrapers 161 Water Street (formerly addressed as 175 Water Street) and 180 Maiden Lane (also known as the Continental Center).
[32] Dart is known for investments in sovereign debt, concentrated and often contrarian equity positions, and campaigns for minority shareholder rights in emerging economies.
These include Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
The dispute was settled, and the restructuring closed, after Brazil agreed to pay a portion of Dart’s overdue interest.
[37] During the Greek financial crisis, Dart was part of a group of investors that held more than $8.2 billion in bonds and did not participate in a proposed exchange in 2012.
[38] Greek officials chose to repay Dart and other creditors in full for a total of €436 million, citing the country’s lack of a government following inconclusive elections.
[38][39][40] Argentina entered a deep recession in 1998 and in late 2001 defaulted nearly $100 billion in debt represented by more than 150 types of bonds.
[41] Citing unsuccessful attempts to begin negotiation discussion with Argentina’s representatives which refused to negotiate for four years, Dart company EM Ltd. filed suit in the Southern District Court of New York in 2003 and was awarded a $700 million judgment for defaulted bonds a week before Argentine bondholders rejected a 25% redemption offer.
In 2013 creditors including EM Ltd. won a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York that rejected a repayment plan from Argentina, called for repayment to all bondholders and referred to the country as a “uniquely recalcitrant debtor”.
[47] Yukos, the country’s second biggest oil company, used stock issues to attempt to skirt creditors and minority shareholders in its subsidiaries.
Dart Foundation funded a $60 million expansion of CIS that added a new high school in 2021.
[57] Dart Scholar is a STEM-focused scholarship program for Caymanian high school and university students.
Scholars receive a four-year scholarship to the school of their choice and regular mentoring and work experience at Dart Enterprises.
[60] Ken Dart established the R3 Cayman Foundation to help support recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.