Portrait of Leonard Abess

Rank #1870

Leonard Abess

Net worth $2.3B

Banking · United States

Born
Jul 23, 1948
Age
77
Source
Banking
Residence
Miami, Florida
Citizenship
United States
Marital status
Children
0
Education

Net worth over time

Biography

  • Leonard Abess made headlines for gifting $60 million to more than 450 current and former employees of his City National Bank of Florida after selling it for more than $1 billion during the financial crisis.
  • His father, Leonard Abess Sr., cofounded the bank in 1946, but sold it in the 1980s. Abess bought it out of bankruptcy a few years later and grew it to nearly $3 billion in assets.
  • Since selling the bank, Abess has bought up nearly 4,000 acres of land across Miami and Vermont, some of which he's using to grow limes.
  • His company, ThinkLab Ventures, provides capital and financing for commercial real estate development projects.
  • It also owns a stake in Jersey Jack Pinball, a leading maker of ?artisanal pinball machines? and previously owned a private jet center near Miami.
  • Abess bought Sylvester Stallone's former Miami home for $16.2 million in 1999.
  • Abess is on the board of trustees of the University of Miami.