Benny Cenac Net Worth 2026
No reliable net worth figure exists for Benny Cenac, but his towing fleet sold to Kirby for about $244 million in 2019.
- Full name
- Arlen Cenac Jr.
- Known as
- Benny Cenac
- Profession
- Owner of Cenac Marine Services, Main Iron Works and Golden Ranch Farms
- Birthplace
- Houma, Louisiana, U.S.
- Nationality
- American
- Source of wealth
- Marine towing (fleet sold to Kirby in 2019), shipbuilding, land
In this article
No reputable publisher has estimated Arlen "Benny" Cenac Jr.'s net worth, so the $20 million figure previously shown here has been removed. The best-documented fact about his wealth points well above that number: in 2019 Kirby Corporation agreed to buy the fleet of his Houma, Louisiana company, Cenac Marine Services, for about $244 million in cash, according to WorkBoat. Cenac kept the company's shipyard business and also owns Golden Ranch Farms, a 52,000-acre property south of Houma.
What is Benny Cenac's net worth?
Forbes, Bloomberg and Celebrity Net Worth have not published a figure for him, and his companies are private. The $244 million fleet sale is the largest public number connected to him, but it is the price paid to the company, not his personal take after debt, taxes and any other owners. His land, shipyard and other holdings have not been valued by a credible outlet. So there is no reliable total, only strong evidence that the old $20 million figure was far too low.

Benny Cenac's yearly earnings, monthly income and salary
The previous page gave him an income of $800,000 a year, $67,000 a month and $2,200 a day. No source supports those numbers, and they have been removed. As owner of private companies, his income is not disclosed.
See Article: April Mason Net Worth
Where the money comes from
Cenac Marine Services (towing)
Cenac is the third-generation owner of Cenac Marine Services, formerly Cenac Towing, based in Houma, WorkBoat reported in 2019. The company moved petrochemicals, refined products and black oil on the Lower Mississippi River, its tributaries and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway for major oil companies and refineries.
The 2019 sale to Kirby
On January 31, 2019, Kirby Corporation announced that it would buy Cenac's fleet for about $244 million, financed with borrowing. WorkBoat listed the fleet as 63 inland tank barges of 30,000 barrels each, with about 1.9 million barrels of total capacity, plus 34 inland towboats and two offshore tugs. The barges averaged four years old and the boats six, which Kirby's CEO cited as a reason for the deal.
Cenac's own statement, published by MarineLink, said its marine employees would be offered jobs with Kirby, that Cenac would keep and run its Houma headquarters campus, and that it would focus on building tugs at its shipyards.
Main Iron Works (shipbuilding)
Cenac acquired Main Iron Works, a Houma shipyard, in 2015, according to the MarineLink statement. After the fleet sale, shipbuilding became the core of his marine business. Speaking at the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans in December 2019, he described himself as having four decades of experience running fleets and a shipyard, and stressed spending on maintenance up front.
Golden Ranch Farms (land)
Cenac owns Golden Ranch Farms, about 52,000 acres of freshwater marsh and fields near Houma, which Louisiana Sportsman described as the largest privately owned refuge in the state. Land at that scale is a significant asset, though no credible appraisal of it has been published.

Philanthropy
In August 2020 Cenac gave $1.2 million to Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, The Courier (Houma Today) reported. Of that, $500,000 paid to replace a run-down campus greenhouse with a new building named for his father, the Arlen Cenac Greenhouse, used by the Bridge to Independence program for students with intellectual disabilities and by the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute. The other $700,000 went to the Nicholls Foundation for campus activities. Cenac said the program hit close to home because he has a son with a physical disability.
Early life and family
Cenac is a lifelong resident of Houma and the son of Arlen Cenac, for whom the Nicholls greenhouse is named. The company he runs was built by earlier generations of his family, which is why WorkBoat calls him its third-generation owner.
The old page described a poor childhood, a love of piano and sculpture, and a wife named Jacqueline Guidry. We found no reliable source for any of those claims and have removed them.
Education
The earlier statement that he graduated from Nicholls State University could not be confirmed. His documented tie to Nicholls is as a donor, so the graduation claim has been removed.
Age, height and weight
His date of birth, height and weight have not been published by a reliable source. The age of 77 and the height and weight given before were unsourced and have been removed.
See Also: Bill Shopoff Net Worth and Carl Armato Net Worth
Why no figure is given
A credible estimate would need his share of the Kirby proceeds after debt, the value of Main Iron Works and the Houma campus, and an appraisal of Golden Ranch Farms. None of those has been reported. We know he sold a fleet for about $244 million and holds a large land estate, which is more than most online estimates acknowledge, but we will not turn that into an invented total.
Frequently asked questions
What is Benny Cenac's net worth?
No reputable outlet has published a net worth for Benny Cenac. The largest documented figure is Kirby Corporation's 2019 purchase of his Cenac Marine Services fleet for about $244 million, reported by WorkBoat. He also owns a shipyard and the 52,000-acre Golden Ranch Farms, which have not been valued publicly.
What company did Benny Cenac sell?
In 2019 Cenac Marine Services agreed to sell its fleet to Kirby Corporation for about $244 million in cash. The fleet included 63 inland tank barges, 34 towboats and two offshore tugs. Cenac kept its Houma campus and its shipbuilding business at Main Iron Works.
What does Benny Cenac own?
Arlen 'Benny' Cenac Jr. owns Cenac Marine Services and the Main Iron Works shipyard in Houma, Louisiana, acquired in 2015, and Golden Ranch Farms, a 52,000-acre marsh and farm property that Louisiana Sportsman called the state's largest privately owned refuge.
How much did Benny Cenac donate to Nicholls State?
In August 2020 he gave $1.2 million to Nicholls State University. $500,000 paid for the new Arlen Cenac Greenhouse, named for his father and used by the Bridge to Independence program, and $700,000 went to the Nicholls Foundation, according to The Courier in Houma.
What is Benny Cenac's yearly income?
His income has not been disclosed. He owns private companies that do not publish financial results, so the older figure of $800,000 a year had no source and was removed. His best-documented financial event is the $244 million sale of his towing fleet to Kirby in 2019.
Sources
- WorkBoat: https://www.workboat.com/coastal-inland-waterways/kirby-acquires-cenac-for-244-million
- MarineLink: https://www.marinelink.com/news/kirby-inland-marine-acquire-cenac-fleet-462368
- WorkBoat: https://www.workboat.com/workboat-show-benny-cenac-pay-for-maintenance-now-save-later
- The Courier (Houma Today): https://www.houmatoday.com/story/news/2020/08/17/houma-businessman-donates-1-2-million-nicholls-state-university/3378711001/
- Louisiana Sportsman: https://www.louisianasportsman.com/fishing/freshwater-fishing/crappie-bream/sac-a-lait-season-on-benny-cenacs-houma-ranch/







