 Benjamin attended New York University where he studied economics and Western literature and was elected president of the student government for his junior and senior years.He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1992 and shortly thereafter began work as assistant to the president of Richter & Co., Inc., an investment bank in midtown Manhattan known primarily for launching Cerberus Partners, L.P. a major American hedge fund.He later worked in the insurance industry with American Corporate Benefits, Inc. and Guardian Life Insurance Company, before starting his own securities trading and investments business in 1997.