Atwater Exits CFO Job Worth Nearly $2.6 Million

By Jim Turner

The News Service of Florida

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, June 28, 2017 .......... Florida's outgoing chief financial officer is leaving the Cabinet position more than $1 million richer than when he first campaigned for the statewide job.

Jeff Atwater, who exits Friday for a job at Florida Atlantic University with more than a year remaining in his term as CFO, posted a net worth of nearly $2.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2016, according to a financial disclosure report posted this week on the Florida Commission on Ethics' website.

When he first ran for the statewide office in 2010, his estimated net worth stood at almost $1.6 million.

Among the biggest changes for the former banker from North Palm Beach since then was trading in the longtime family home for waterfront property in the same neighborhood in 2014.

In 2014, Atwater reported the value of the former family home as $345,065, up from its appraised value of $267,000 during the 2010 campaign. The new homestead --- with a two-car garage, pool and its own dock --- was valued at $750,000 when purchased in 2014. In the latest report, the home was appraised at $909,000.

Atwater, a Senate president before seeking the statewide office, said he earned roughly $128,161 last year from his state job and another $37,562 in deferred payments from Bank of America, the bank that took over his former employer, Barnett Bank.

Atwater also has more than $1.2 million tied to a Northern Trust IRA account, according to his latest report.

Next week, he will begin work as a vice president at Boca Raton-based FAU, managing finances and economic development.

Replacing Atwater will be former Public Service Commissioner Jimmy Patronis, who was appointed to the job on Monday by Gov. Rick Scott.

As a member of the commission since 2015, Patronis --- a family restaurateur from Panama City who resigned as a utility regulator on Sunday --- wasn't required to list his personal net worth or the estimated values of his personal holdings in his disclosures.

But in his final year as a member of the Florida House, Patronis' financial disclosure listed a net worth of nearly $5.8 million as of Dec. 31, 2013.

At that time, interests tied to the family partnership that owns the landmark Capt. Anderson's Restaurant in Panama City were collectively worth about $4.5 million. Meanwhile, property he personally owns in Panama City, Lynn Haven, Washington County, Panama City Beach and Tallahassee were then collectively valued at just over $1.1 million.

Atwater is the second member of the current Cabinet to submit a financial disclosure for the current year. Attorney General Pam Bondi reported a net worth of $1.7 million as of Dec. 31, 2016.

Annual reports for Gov. Rick Scott and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a candidate for governor in 2018, have yet to be submitted.

The reports are due July 3.