By Jacob Wolinsky. Originally published at ValueWalk.
NEW: Two Luxury Hotel Operators Get 50 Paycheck Protection Loans Meant For Small Biz
Q1 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Companies Received At Least $45 Million From SBA Program
READ: Two Luxury Hotel Companies Received 50 SBA Paycheck Protection Grants Worth Over $45 Million
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Amidst mounting criticism of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, two massive luxury hotel operators disclosed that they received at least fifty paycheck protection loans valued at over $45 million.
The two firms — Braemar Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and Ashford Hospitality Trust — operate luxury hotels throughout the country including several Ritz Carltons and hotels in posh locations like Lake Tahoe, Colorado Ski Country and Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.
Far from “small” businesses, the companies paid their executives over $13 million dollars in 2019 alone.
“When the President and his allies in Congress think ‘small business,’ do luxury hotel operators that pay their executives obscene sums really come first to mind? The special interest loophole that allowed giant companies to masquerade as corner stores is a big reason why the program burned through funds so fast — and why so many legitimate small business owners were burned in the process. Congress can still avoid making the same mistake twice in the booster bill by closing the luxury loophole,” said Jeremy Funk, spokesperson for government watchdog Accountable.US.
Funk continued, “Big business and Wall Street financiers may have a relationship with the White House, but it’s local shops across the country that really power America’s economic engine. Small businesses are counting on these funds to help them survive this crisis.”
Accountable.US is a nonpartisan watchdog group that exposes corruption across all levels of government.
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