Tony Bennett’s daughters accuse brother of mismanaging trust and taking $2.6M in commissions
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: After Tony Bennett’s death in July 2023 at the age of 96, his daughters Antonia and Johanna Bennett leveled serious accusations against their brother Danny, alleging he’s been mismanaging their father’s estate for years—and even helped himself to hundreds of thousands of dollars from the family trust.
The family drama came to light in June when Antonia and Johanna first filed suit against Danny over unaccounted assets in their father’s estate. Both sisters along with their brother Dae are beneficiaries of The Tony Bennett 1994 Family Trust, but Danny holds the reins as the sole trustee.
And according to the sisters, he’s been running the trust like his personal piggy bank.
Antonia and Johanna Bennett fire back at brother Danny in court
Fast forward to November, and Danny wasn’t taking these accusations lying down. He filed a motion to transfer the case to the surrogate’s court or to dismiss it entirely. But Antonia and Johanna weren’t backing down either. On January 3, they fired back with a motion asking the court to shut down Danny’s requests, citing “serious concerns” about how he’s handled his trustee duties.
“Danny acted in multiple, conflicting fiduciary capacities for an extended period prior to Tony’s death and took (for himself and his children) significant funds from the Family Trust,” their court filing claims. “Moreover, as publicized by Danny to various media outlets, at some point prior to Tony’s death, Tony entered a phase of diminished capacity, which means Tony was no longer able to act as co-trustee, leaving Danny to serve as sole Trustee of the Family Trust with no oversight.”
Danny’s camp, however, paints a very different picture.
A source close to him told People, “Tony and Danny Bennett have worked together for over 40 years, and the record of their successful partnership speaks for itself. Tony thoughtfully planned his estate to reflect his wishes and generously provided for his loved ones. Danny has always acted in Tony’s best interest and has worked diligently to ensure his father’s plans were honored and carried out. It is unfortunate and sad that some are choosing to dispute his decisions rather than honoring Tony’s legacy.”
Despite this, Antonia and Johanna are standing their ground. They believe they have every right to demand an accounting of Danny’s actions as trustee, both before and after their father’s death.
They say there’s been a lack of "transparency" and they’re determined to get to the bottom of it. “[Tony] expressed a clear intention and direction in his estate plans that all four of his children be treated equally,” their filing says.
Allegations of Danny Bennett's mismanagement and self-dealing
The sisters’ court filings spill a lot of tea about Danny Danny Bennett’s alleged financial shenanigans. They claim Danny was writing checks from the trust “as he saw fit,” including gifting himself $200,700 in 2022. That’s on top of the $50,000 monthly advances he reportedly took starting in 2021—long before these payments were formally approved in 2022.
Then there’s the bombshell about the sale of Tony’s assets to Iconoclast, a deal Danny allegedly orchestrated under the guise of financial trouble. But according to the sisters, Tony “still had millions of dollars” when the deal went down.
They argue that while Danny claimed his father was strapped for cash, he continued “making gifts to himself and his children with Family Trust assets.” Meanwhile, his company RPM Productions raked in nearly $2.6 million in commissions, while Johanna and Antonia reportedly only received $245,000 each from the trust.
“Without more information about Tony’s income, it is unclear whether the payments Danny was making to himself exceed what was contractually owed to him,” the filing says. “Statements and management agreements provided by Danny indicate that commissions paid to [his company, RPM Productions] appear to have been much higher than they should have been based on Tony’s income.”
Tony Bennett set up the family trust in 1994, originally naming Danny and Dae as co-trustees. Things changed in 2008 when the trust was amended, and Tony and Danny became co-trustees instead. After Tony’s passing, Danny assumed sole control.
What's more? Dae and Tony’s widow Susan Bendetto have been named as respondents in the daughters’ suit. Antonia and Johanna allege that Susan and Dae have been dodging accountability for Danny’s actions.
According to the sisters, the pair argues that Johanna and Antonia “lack standing” to demand an accounting for the period before Tony’s death and claim their requests for post-death accounting are “premature," People reported.
