Angelo Mozilo Net Worth

Angelo Robert Mozilo (December 16, 1938 – July 16, 2023) was an American banker who was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial until July 1, 2008. The company’s status as a major lender of subprime mortgages made it a central player in a subsequent mortgage crisis which collapsed the industry, bursting a housing bubble which had accumulated throughout the 2000s, and contributing heavily to the Great Recession. Mozilo later paid over $67 million in fines to settle a series of federal charges related to his conduct at the company.

What was Angelo Mozilo’s Net Worth?

Angelo Mozilo was an American executive who had a net worth of $600 million at the time of his death in July 2023. Angelo Mozilo was best known for being the former chairman of the board and CEO of Countrywide Financial. He served as CEO until July 1, 2008, just a few months before the financial crisis. During his time at Countrywide, Angelo earned hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and sold at least $400 million worth of his shares.

Countrywide was a pioneer in the nationwide non-bank mortgage industry. When subprime loans came onto the scene in the late ’80s (Guardian S&L) and ’90s (The Money Store), his company did not participate. He reportedly (privately) described the subprime loan mavericks of the ’90s as “crooks”. His company, however, was losing business to the subprime lenders and had to compete with them or continue to lose market share. By the early 2000s, Countrywide began using subprime loans in a major way. After the market crash of 2008/2009, Countrywide soon symbolized and bore much of the blame for, the subprime mortgage crisis.

In a 2008 New York Times feature, Henry G. Cisneros, former secretary of HUD and member of the Countrywide board of directors, described Mozilo as “sick with stress—the final chapter of his life is the infamy that’s been brought on him, or that he brought on himself.” CNN named Mozilo as one of the Ten Most Wanted: Culprits’ of the 2008 financial collapse in the United States, a theory further supported in “Inside Job,” an Academy Award-winning documentary on the global financial crisis.

Net Worth: $600 Million

Date of Birth: 1938 – Jul 16, 2023 (85 years old)

Place of Birth: The Bronx

Gender: Male

Profession: Businessperson, Banker

Nationality: Italy

Over many years, Mozilo sold hundreds of millions of dollars in stock, personally, even while publicly touting the stock and using shareholder funds to buy back stock to support the share price.

On June 4, 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged him with insider trading and securities fraud. The terms of the settlement allowed Mozilo to avoid acknowledging any wrongdoing. Countrywide was to pay $20 million of the $67.5 million penalty because of an indemnification agreement that was part of Mozilo’s employment contract. In February 2011, the U.S. dropped its criminal investigation into the facts behind the civil settlement.

Background

Angelo Robert Mozilo was born in the Bronx on December 16, 1938. His grandparents were Italian immigrants and his father was a butcher. He attended Catholic schools as a child, and helped his father with his business from age 12. When he was 14, he began working as a messenger for a mortgage broker. He was a graduate of Fordham University

Career

In 1969, he and his former mentor David S. Loeb, who had already started a mortgage lending company, founded Countrywide Credit Industries in New York. They later moved the headquarters to Pasadena, California, and then to Calabasas, California, in Los Angeles County. Mozilo and Loeb cofounded IndyMac Bank, which was originally known as Countrywide Mortgage Investment, before being spun off as an independent bank in 1997. IndyMac collapsed and was seized by federal regulators on July 11, 2008.

After Countrywide was listed on the NYSE in 1984, Mozilo sold $406 million (~$909 million in 2021) worth of its stock, mostly obtained through stock option grants. $129 million (~$165 million in 2021) of this was realized in the 12 months ending August 2007

In the beginning, Countrywide was a pioneer in the nationwide non-bank mortgage industry, and grew to become one of the biggest mortgage lending companies in the United States. Mozilo was very concerned with the quality of credit borrowers and the quality of their loans. When subprime loans came onto the scene in the late 1980s (Guardian S&L) and 1990s (The Money Store), his company did not participate. He privately described the subprime loan mavericks of the 1990s as “crooks”. However, his company began to lose business to the subprime lenders. He had to compete with them or keep losing market share. Thus, by the early 2000s, Countrywide began using subprime loans.

Perhaps more than any single individual, Mozilo has come to symbolize, and bear the blame for, the subprime mortgage crisis. In a New York Times feature on October 20, 2008, Henry G. Cisneros, former secretary of HUD and member of the Countrywide board of directors, described Mozilo as “sick with stress—the final chapter of his life is the infamy that’s been brought on him, or that he brought on himself.” CNN named Mozilo as one of the ‘Ten Most Wanted: Culprits’ of the 2008 financial collapse in the United States, theory further supported in Inside Job, an Academy Award-winning documentary on the global financial crisis. For years afterward, Mozilo denied that the subprime mortgage industry bore any responsibility for the crisis, instead attributing it to a credit crunch.

Compensation

Mozilo’s compensation during the United States housing bubble of 2001–06 later came under scrutiny. During that period, his total compensation (including salary, bonuses, options and restricted stock) approached $470 million. His compensation also included payment for equity memberships and annual country club dues at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, CA, The Quarry at La Quinta golf club in La Quinta, California and at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.

Mozilo testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on March 7, 2008, calling reports of his pay “grossly exaggerated” in some instances and pointing out that he lost millions as well. He defended the pay: The compensation was a function of how the company did ahead of the mortgage crisis.

Subprime Mortgage Crisis and Controversy

However, Countrywide’s success story turned sour when the U.S. housing bubble burst in 2007. The company had aggressively pursued subprime lending, offering mortgages to high-risk borrowers. When the market collapsed, many of these borrowers defaulted, contributing significantly to the 2008 financial crisis.

Mozilo’s leadership during this period attracted significant controversy. He was accused of misleading investors about the riskiness of Countrywide’s loan portfolio and of making millions through insider trading.

Bank of America acquired Countrywide in July 2008 for $4.1 billion. The acquisition would go on to cost BofA billions upon billions of dollars. Angelo retired a few months after the deal closed. Around this time he made a number of glowing statements about his former company’s future prospects, while also offloading $140 million worth of his own shares.

Legal Proceedings and Later Life

In 2009, Mozilo was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for securities fraud and insider trading. He agreed to a settlement in 2010, which included a lifetime ban from serving as an officer or director of any public company, without admitting or denying the allegations.

Legacy

Angelo Mozilo’s legacy is multifaceted. His early innovations in the mortgage industry and his commitment to making homeownership accessible to more Americans have had a lasting impact. However, his leadership during the subprime mortgage crisis and the ensuing legal consequences have left a stain on his reputation.