What Is Clare Bronfman's Net Worth?
Clare Bronfman is an American equestrian with a net worth of $500 million. She is the youngest daughter of the late billionaire and Seagram CEO, Edgar Bronfman Sr. Clare's equestrian career began when she was 17, and she quickly rose to compete at the elite level. She won her first competition in 2001 and achieved her highest career ranking as #12 in the United States and #80 in the world.
Bronfman was involved with the marketing company NXIVM's personal advancement program and Executive Success Program workshops. She was arrested in 2018 and indicted on several federal charges regarding an alleged cult within NXIVM named DOS, including charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor. In July 2018, Clare was charged with identity theft and money laundering and released on a $100 million bond. In September 2020, she was sentenced to 81 months in prison for her involvement.
Early Life
Clare Bronfman was born in 1979 in New York City. She is the daughter of Rita Webb and Edgar Bronfman Sr. Edgar was a Canadian billionaire who served as the CEO, president, and treasurer of his family's company, Seagram. Clare's older sister, Sara, was born in 1976, and the sisters have five older half-siblings from her father's marriage to banking heiress Ann Margaret Loeb. Bronfman's parents divorced in 1983 and remarried and divorced again later. After the second divorce, Edgar married artist Jan Aronson, and Rita, by then known as Georgiana, wed actor Nigel Havers. Clare and Sara lived with their mother in England and Kenya after the second divorce. Bronfman's father was Jewish, and her mother converted to Judaism when she married Edgar.
Equestrian Career
In late 1999, Clare competed in Ireland's Millstreet Indoor International Horse Show. She won the Grand Prix at CSI-A Eindhoven in May 2001, and her team finished in seventh place in jumping in the Samsung Nations Cup Series' World Final a few months later. In May 2002, Bronfman won Rome's Grand Prix, and her team came in sixth. Clare finished in 13th place at Bremen's CSI-A competition in October 2002. In October 2018, the United States Center for SafeSport permanently banned her due to her involvement with NXIVM, making her ineligible for any activities and competitions that the USEF licenses, endorses, or sponsors.
NXIVM Involvement
Clare became involved with NXIVM's Executive Success Program and personal advancement program in 2002 through her sister. Both sisters became financial backers of NXIVM's founder, Keith Raniere, and moved to upstate New York to work as trainers. Clare was an event coordinator for the annual "Vanguard Week," celebrating Raniere's birthday. The Bronfman sisters introduced their father to the organization, but Edgar left after he learned that Clare had given Raniere a $2 million "loan." In a 2003 "Forbes" article, Edgar referred to NXIVM as a "cult." Clare became NXIVM's operations director and one of its largest financial contributors, spending about $150 million on the organization. Clare installed keylogger software on Edgar's computer, giving NXIVM members access to his email for years. Raniere allegedly directed Bronfman to hire private firms to investigate the group's enemies, including several federal judges.
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Looking to distance themselves from the media's cult allegations, NXIVM members spent $2 million to earn an endorsement from the Dalai Lama. Raniere and both Bronfman sisters co-founded the World Ethical Foundations Consortium, and Clare and Sara helped bring the Dalai Lama to Albany for the inaugural event in 2009. The Dalai Lama also wrote the foreword for Raniere's book "The Sphinx & Thelxiepeia." It was later reported that Sara had a sexual relationship with the Dalai Lama's gatekeeper, Lama Tenzin Dhonden, violating his vow of celibacy. Dhonden arranged the Dalai Lama's appearance and was replaced due to corruption accusations. In June 2017, Sarah Edmondson, a NXIVM member, informed Frank Parlato of the "Frank Report" about a secret sisterhood within the group called Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS). Parlato published the story, revealing that DOS members were referred to as "slaves," physically punished by their "masters," and branded with Raniere's initials and those of actress Allison Mack, the second-in-command of DOS. The women also had to provide nude photos or potentially damaging information as "collateral." Later that year, Clare was contacted by DOS members demanding their collateral be returned, but she did not respond. Bronfman sought to file criminal charges against Edmondson through police departments in New York City and Vancouver.
Raniere and Mack were arrested in 2018 and indicted on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor. Federal agents arrested Clare on July 24, 2018, charging her with identity theft and money laundering. She pleaded not guilty and was released on a $100 million bond, placed under house arrest. In April 2019, Bronfman pleaded guilty to fraudulent use of identification and conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain. In September 2020, a federal judge sentenced her to 81 months in prison and ordered her to pay a $500,000 fine and $96,605 in restitution to one of NXIVM's victims. Clare served her time at FDC Philadelphia and the Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury. In January 2020, 80 former NXIVM members filed a civil suit against Clare, Sara, and others, alleging that the organization made it "physically and psychologically difficult, and in some cases impossible, to leave the coercive community."
Real Estate
In early 2021, Clare's horse farm in upstate New York went on the market for $5 million. The 7,500 square foot home sits on over 200 acres of land, featuring seven bedrooms and three bathrooms. The property also includes a barn, a carriage house, and riding trails.
