Banker hands $60M to staff
MIAMI (AP) – At a time when bankers are being pilloried on Capitol Hill as heartless and greedy, Leonard Abess Jr. stands apart.
After selling his bank for a fortune last fall, he quietly handed out $60 million in bonuses from his own pocket – and not just to top executives. In all, 471 employees and retirees, including tellers, clerks and secretaries, were rewarded, receiving an average of about $127,000 each.
“I think everybody was surprised. But knowing Leonard, the type of person he is, I can believe him giving it away,” said retiree William Perry, who spent 43 years at City National Bank of Florida, rising from janitor to vice president. Perry, 78, got $50,000, which he is using to help his son pay for law school.
For his generosity and humility, Abess was singled out for praise by President Barack Obama in his congressional address Tuesday. Abess attended as Obama’s guest.
“He’s a brilliant banker, which I think is obvious because of how well the bank has done all these years. And, obviously, a very generous man,” said Ginger Nunn, a managing senior vice president. “He can not only set an example for other bankers but for any businessperson.”
Abess, 60, did not return several calls for comment Wednesday. He never wanted to make a big deal out of his largesse; he didn’t even show up at the bank when the envelopes were distributed in November. It wasn’t until he mentioned the bonuses in a recent interview with The Miami Herald that they became publicly known.
Abess’ father founded the bank in 1946 and he began his career in the print shop, working his way up the corporate ladder. His family sold the bank in the early 1980s to an investment group, which in turn sold it to a Colombian coffee magnate. When the magnate was convicted of fraud, Abess bought a majority stake out of bankruptcy in 1985 for $21 million, all of it borrowed, and then acquired the rest for $6 million.