In the flurry of life, you probably missed this story. I almost did, and that would have been too bad. Over in Belleville, Minnesota, a 67-year-old man named Bob Thompson sold his road-building company for $422 million back in July. He did not, as we would expect, buy himself a jet or an island, not even a new home. Instead, Thompson decided to share the wealth.
2He divided $128 million among his 550 workers. Some checks exceeded annual salaries. And for more than 80 people, the bonus went beyond their wildest expectations: They became millionaires. Thompson even included some retirees and widows in his plan. What’s more, he paid the taxes on those proceeds—about $25 million.
3Employees were so flabbergasted that the wife of an area manager tearfully said: “I think the commas are in the wrong place.” The commas were right where they belonged. Thompson had made sure of that, had made sure, too, that not one of the workers would lose his or her job in the buyout.
4I sat at the breakfast table stunned. I just don’t know too many people or companies that would do something like that. Sure, many employers offer profit-sharing and stock-option plans. But outright giving? Nah. Employees rarely share in the bounty when the big payoff comes. In fact, many end up losing their jobs, being demoted, seeking transfers, or taking early retirement. Insecurity—or better yet, the concept of every man for himself—is a verity of work life in America.
5Yet here is one man defying all of the stereotypes. I search for clues in his life, but find nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that stands out. He started the business in his basement with $3,500, supported by his schoolteacher wife. He has owned the same modest house for 37 years. His wood-paneled office has no Persian rugs or oil paintings, only photos of three children and five grandchildren. He admits to an indulgence or two: a Lincoln and an occasional Broadway show.
6Yet he possesses something as priceless as it is rare: generosity. And he seems to be sheepishly modest even about that. “It’s sharing good times, that’s really all it is,” he told a reporter. “I don’t think you can read more into it. I’m a proud person. I wanted to go out a winner, and I wanted to go out doing the right thing.” We all want to do the right thing, but blessed by a windfall, would we have done as Thompson did? Maybe. I don’t know. Honestly, I’m embarrassed to say I’m not sure I would have.
7Perhaps, however, the more appropriate question is this: In our own more limited circumstances, do we share with others in the same spirit Thompson showed? Do we give beyond expectations? For most of us, generosity comes with limits. It is, by and large, a sum without sacrifice, a respectable token.
8Some might say that Thompson’s munificence was token-like. After all, the $153 million is less than a third of his $422 million payoff. That kind of reasoning, however, misses the mark. Few of us give away even 10 percent, and if our income increases, the tendency is not to share more but to buy more, to hoard more. Not Thompson. After finishing with his employees, he plans to continue giving away much of what’s left of the $422 million.
9I suspect he is on to something. In a society where success tends to be measured in what we can acquire, this guy instead is preaching and practicing the opposite. Success, he is telling us, is in the giving back.
He seems to have mastered what many of us have yet to understand: the difference between need and want, between the basic essentials and our inchoate desires. He has, by golly, defined enough. Maybe that’s all the wealth he needs.