Florida Files

Officeholders

Michael S Bennett

2023 Form 6 · annual filing (Commission on Ethics) · received 2024-08-06 · 4 pages (text)

Net worth$9,905,800
Income listed$435,000
Real estate$3,125,0002 properties
Debts listed$100,000
Worth a look1

Where listed income comes from

  • Banking, mortgage & lending 52% $225,000 · Private Mtg. Lending
  • Other / unclassified 41% $180,000 · Bright Future Electric
  • Investments & retirement 7% $30,000 · Social Security

Worth a look 1

Worth a look Income & business ties

Manatee County: no public salary among the income listed

The filer held Manatee County in 2023, a salaried public office, but the primary sources of income listed (Bright Future Electric, Private Mtg. Lending, Social Security) don't include a public payer such as the State of Florida, the county or the school district.

What to check
  • Check the income page of the original: the salary may be listed under another name.
  • Check that they were paid in office all year: the Commission keeps listing a suspended or departed official under the office, and a new term may start partway through the year.
  • Some officials decline or donate their salary; the form still asks for income received.

Rule: Paid public office, but no public salary listed
“List the name of each source of income that provided you with more than $1,000 of income during”2023 Form 6 instructions, Income ✓ quoted from the saved instructions · how this rule works

Context 4

Context Unusual reporting

Lists 1 investment account ($2,609,000) instead of what's in them

The instructions say the investments held in a brokerage account or IRA are the assets to report — not the account itself. As listed, the public can't see what the filer is invested in.

What to check
  • Which companies or funds are in these accounts? Holdings matter for conflicts of interest.

Rule: Accounts listed instead of investments
“Note that the product contained in a brokerage account, IRA, or the Florida College Investment Plan, is your asset”2023 Form 6 instructions, Assets ✓ quoted from the saved instructions · how this rule works

Context Unusual reporting

Net worth $9,905,800; listed items add up to $11,171,549

Reported net worth: $9,905,800. Household goods + listed assets − listed liabilities = $11,171,549. A difference is normal: net worth also counts assets and debts that aren't listed individually (items under $1,000, credit cards, taxes), and the instructions say subtracting listed liabilities from listed assets won't give an accurate figure in most cases.

What to check
  • No action needed unless other items look off.

Rule: Net worth vs. listed items
“Simply subtracting your liabilities from your assets will not result in an accurate net worth figure in most cases.”2023 Form 6 instructions, Net Worth ✓ quoted from the saved instructions · how this rule works

Context Wealth & holdings

Reports a net worth of $9,905,800 — a multimillionaire on paper

Net worth is the filer's own figure. Being wealthy isn't a problem; it's context for comparing candidates and for reading the rest of the form.

What to check
  • Compare with the other candidates in the race.
  • Check that the large assets below are described and valued clearly.

Rule: Net worth tier
“Report your net worth as of”2023 Form 6 instructions, Net Worth ✓ quoted from the saved instructions · how this rule works

Context Wealth & holdings

Real estate worth $3,125,000 across 2 properties (32% of net worth)

Real estate holdings, as listed.

What to check
  • Look the parcels up with the county property appraiser: land use (vacant or improved), assessed value and when they were bought.
  • Check whether any listed liability is a mortgage on these properties.

Rule: Real estate holdings
“Real property: Identify by providing the street address of the property.”2023 Form 6 instructions, Assets ✓ quoted from the saved instructions · how this rule works

Where to look next

Some of what this filing reports stands out. These links open official public records, built from what the filer disclosed. They're searches you run yourself — results may include other people or companies with similar names.

Their filings

Other filings by Michael S Bennett

FilingReceivedNet worthItems
2024 Form 6F — annual (Commission on Ethics)2024-08-06$9,905,8001
2022 Form 6 — annual (Commission on Ethics)2023-05-09$9,990,747

Net worth

Net worth
As of
Household goods (lump sum)

Assets over $1,000 $11,251,549 listed

DescriptionValue

Liabilities over $1,000 $100,000 listed

CreditorAddressAmount

Joint and several liabilities not reported above

Reported as “N/A”.

Income $435,000 listed

Elected to attach federal tax return instead:

Primary sources

SourceAddressAmount

Secondary sources (major customers of businesses owned)

Interests in specified businesses

Reported as “N/A”.

Companies on the state register

Companies this filing names, as the Division of Corporations lists them. Their role is shown when the filer is an officer or registered agent. A company matched by name only is shown just when it's active. How these are matched

CompanyNamed asState recordTheir role
O.F. FUNDING, LLCAssetActive
formed 2021 · last annual report 2026
matched by name

Signature

Signed by
—
Date
Filed with COE

Source

Document
Open PDF · original source
Retrieved
2026-10-11T03:16:27+00:00
SHA-256
b96540fc7bf81bd3292d14b2d179a85730e0cdfb6a068ad415b94fa7ee6fae69
Pages
p1 form6 · p2 form6 · p3 form6 · p4 form6
Extraction
parser v0.5.2; 0 value(s) below 80% confidence