| Page 3 of 3 < |
Contractors Cash Out but Try to Stay Humble
Harry M. "Pete" Howton was able to set up trusts for his children and donate about $200,000 last year after the sale of the firm he founded in his basement in 1995.
(By Larry Morris -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
He also spent $1 million to open a new government contracting company, KingFisher Systems Inc., starting the cycle all over again.
But the family's life isn't all that different, the Howtons said.
"It's still carpools, piano lessons, gymnastics," said Barbara Howton, laundry basket in hand and daughters underfoot.
Roger Mody, more culturally aligned with the dot-com set, sold Signal partly because "all of my net worth was tied up in the company." Since the deal closed, Mody has had the cash to buy real estate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and partial ownership of a jet company and to invest in a few area start-ups. He also gave $200,000 to charities last year and is building a 30,000-square-foot home in an area of McLean known in real estate circles as the Gold Coast.
There have been no fancy cars or new houses for Freeland, who was the sole stockholder in RGII Technologies when it was sold for $21 million in cash plus $10 million more if the company performs well over the next few years.
Freeland, 43, is still with her company, now a subsidiary of a larger firm, and says she's "working harder than I did before."
She said the wealth hasn't changed her family's lifestyle, but it has allowed her to give $50,000 a year to minority students and establish a $250,000 endowment at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Her biggest concern is how the money could affect her twin 12-year old daughters.
"They've been trained to say, 'Hey, we've been blessed,' " Freeland said. "We try to make sure that they stay humble themselves."
Many wealthy government contracting executives are loath to talk about their money, but their success has not gone unnoticed by local fundraisers.
"The rise in this sector certainly bodes well for GMU," said Judith Marshall Jobbitt, vice president of development for George Mason University, which received a $10 million gift from local contracting executive Ernst Volgenau and his wife, Sara, in October. "We have a community of people learning how to be philanthropists."
They're also learning how to be rich. After Sytel was sold, White was inundated by calls from wealth advisers, offering to help manage her money. Financially, the sale of the 300-person company last year was something of a relief.
"All of my eggs were in one basket," she said. "I felt more diversified after selling."
The money has allowed her to take some time off and to explore potential investments in real estate and health-care companies. Managing the money, she said, is a new favorite hobby.
Howton, meanwhile, also has plans to spend some of his millions in the coming year -- but it won't be on expensive art or antique cars.
"We'll probably pick up some other little companies as we go along," he said.
