Miami Banker Gives Away $60 Million to Employees
I wish I worked for a CEO like Leonard Abess. After he sold a majority stake in Miami-based City National Bancshares last November to a Spanish bank he gave $60 million of the proceeds, his own money, to 399 employees which included tellers, bookkeepers, clerks, and everyone on the payroll.
Mr. Abess even tracked down 72 former employees to give them a share of the $60 million. How cool is this guy? The bonuses were based on years of service and amounted to tens of thousands of dollars to more than $100,000.
Mr. Abess didn’t publicize his generousity and didn’t show up at the bank to get the pleasure of handing out the money. Of course when people found out he was giving away money, he was inundated with letters soon after.
When asked what motivated him to give away $60 million, he said he has always dreamed of rewarding employees. He added, ”Those people who joined me and stayed with me at the bank with no promise of equity…I always thought some day I’m going to surprise them…I sure as heck don’t need (the money)”. Now that’s when you know you are filthy rich; you can easily afford to give away $60 million dollars.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com
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9:24 pm on February 17th, 2009
It’s amazing how much some people have and some people have very little. Giving away $60 million is serious money!