Donald Watkins
Miami is an international city, known all over the world, and there's an abundance of major capital here with lots of players in the business world," Watkins said.
(From The South Florida Business Journal)
Miami Beach gains a new heavy hitter
By Malena Cunningham
One of the richest African-Americans in the nation, a banker and attorney who has pursued ownership of three major league baseball teams, has moved to Miami Beach.
Donald Watkins also was in the news earlier this year for successfully leading the defense of former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy.
While he has enjoyed strolling along Miami Beach and taking swims since moving there in September, he is planning to expand Alamerica, the bank he founded in 2001 in Birmingham.
"We are looking to open a branch here in the Miami metro area first and, if not Miami, in the Florida panhandle," he said. He also hopes to expand Alamerica to the Bahamas, capping off two years of conversations with officials there.
"Miami is an international city, known all over the world, and there's an abundance of major capital here with lots of players in the business world," Watkins said, adding that it's also a great place to network.
"And best of all, there is no personal state income tax, which is an added benefit to me these days," he said.
Watkins is believed to be one of the richest African-Americans in this country. Three years ago, when he tried to buy the Minnesota Twins, it was estimated he was worth $1.4 billion, a figure he will neither confirm nor deny.
As part of his bid, he said he would build a stadium (estimated price: $350 million) that taxpayers in Minnesota didn't want to pay for.
Watkins ended up not buying the team and the Twins, still owned by Carl Pohlad, announced a proposal in April for a $360 million ballpark that would include a $125 million contribution from the team.
The Florida Marlins have been pursuing a new, retractable-roof stadium near the Orange Bowl, but the funding gap that has been estimated at between $30 million and $100 million. There has been widespread speculation the team, which has won two World Series championships, could move to Las Vegas if a stadium deal isn't finalized.
Watkins struck out on his quest to become the first African-American owner in the major leagues when his efforts to buy the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Anaheim Angels and the Twins fell through.
Not giving up
But, he says he hasn't given up.
"Back in May, I got an application from the league when the Washington Nationals were for sale, but didn't send it in," he said.
Watkins, anticipating a bidding war, said he passed on the opportunity. In retrospect, he was correct.
"The price got up to $450 million. That's out of my league," he said.
"Any doubts about my ability to buy a team have been removed," he said. "Since winning the Scrushy case, I have removed all questions about credentials and credibility."
The question likely to come up in South Florida is whether Watkins will use those credentials to seek ownership of the Marlins, which are owned by Jeffrey H. Loria. Watkins' effort to pursue a major league team was interrupted when Scrushy was charged in March 2003 with masterminding a $2.4 billion fraud and conspiracy at the company he founded.
Watkins, hired to head Scrushy's defense team a few months later, said in an exclusive television interview: "Richard Scrushy is my friend, and when my friend is in trouble, I drop everything to come to his rescue."
Watkins said he believed the government was trying to make Scrushy the poster child for corporate fraud under the newly passed Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Because it had been years since Watkins practiced law, there was doubt that Scrushy could beat the charges. After all, 18 former HealthSouth executives - five former CFOs among them - pointed the finger at Scrushy.
Watkins said he had no doubts.
In June, he and the team of lawyers he assembled won a decisive victory when Scrushy was found not guilty on all counts. Since then, Watkins said, he's been contacted by at least a dozen heads of industry.
"I think they recognize the legal ability to get one out of legal trouble, should one get in that place, plus I think they enjoy the personal relationship," he said.
After 32 months' work on the Scrushy case, however, Watkins said he has no intention of spending months inside another courtroom. He is not yet listed as a Florida attorney on the Florida Bar's Web site.
Watkins said it's time now to catch up on business. He said he had no idea the positive impact the trial would have on his personal and professional life.
"Winning that case opened doors in ways I would never have imagined. I have met people in the business arena I never would have met," he said.
Banking is hardly his only interest. He said he currently is exploring opportunities in energy, gaming and global military procurement. Watkins said he's not sure if he'll bring any of his new ventures back to Birmingham.
Now 58, Watkins said he hopes to attain all of his business goals in the next five years so he can retire. "I'll just follow all my business interests on the computer screen."
And that will leave lots of time for strolls on the beach.
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