Sharing the wealth

Miami Herald: What a great way to say thanks. With little fanfare, Miami banker Leonard L. Abess Jr. quietly distributed “bonus” checks from his own pocket to 399 unsuspecting employees and 72 former employees last November. These checks are a world apart from the multimillion-dollar bonuses that Wall Street passes out to top executives each year in a perverse celebration, in equal measure, of success or failure.

Abess decided to share some of the proceeds he got from the sale of City National Bancshares to a Madrid bank last year with bank employees, including tellers, clerks, janitors, supervisors and managers. The gift came straight from his very big, very generous heart. Indeed, the story of the surprise bonuses was not publicly revealed until months later when Abess made an off-hand comment in a conversation with Miami Herald business writer Martha Brannigan.

Talk of the town

Now, Abess’ generosity is the talk of the town — no, of the nation. Network and cable-television news and talk show hosts are scrambling for interviews with Abess. No doubt, they want to know how in such a Gilded Age of executive privilege a contrarian as Abess could exist.

The fact is, Abess sets an excellent example for the corporate world to emulate. In his view, the employees who perform the basic tasks of an enterprise are as deserving of extra compensation when a company does well or is sold as are the top executives. “I saw that if the president doesn’t come to work, it’s not a big deal,” he said in an interview with Brannigan. “But if the tellers don’t show up, it’s a serious problem.”