The world still recognizes Abess for his incredible gesture of appreciation to his employees when he generously divvied up some $60 million of the $945 acquired when he sold the majority stake of the City National Bank of Florida; but today Abess continues to give back in different ways. The Trustee of the University of Miami has donated millions to establish the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, acts as chair of UM’s finance committee and is a member of the executive, investment and medical affairs committees. He also serves as a trustee of Fairchild Tropical Garden and The Nature Conservancy/Florida Chapter.