Abel Holtz

Abel Holtz, 86, passed away July 3, 2021. He was born in Placetas, Cuba. He graduated from the University of Havana in 1956 with accounting and law degrees. He practiced law in Havana for 5 years and as a result of Abel's representation of political prisoners, he was jailed by the Castro regime. His wife, Fana, secured his release and he, along with his wife and two infant sons, Daniel and Javier, arrived in Miami in 1961. Equipped with a law degree and determination Abel went to work in the banking business. With the support of close friends he raised funding to start Capital Bank in 1974. The bank grew to $2 billion in assets and became one of the largest minority-owned businesses. He also built the bank's factory subsidiary, Capital Factors, into one of the industry's largest. Abel was a great supporter of the community as a Chairman of Jackson Memorial Hospital Foundation and provided the leadership gift to establish Holtz Children's Hospital at Jackson. He also developed Fana Holtz High School at the Hebrew Academy and served on the board of the Diabetes Research Institute, the National Parkinson Foundation, Mt. Sinai Medical Center and many others. Abel is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Fana; his sons Daniel and Javier, daughter-in-law Andria, grandchildren Matthew and his wife Grace, great granddaughter Brooke Ava, Nicole, Andrew, Brandon, Aaron and Lauren. He is also survived by his brothers Moises and Jaime, brothers-in-law Isaac and Oscar, and their wives Berta and Anita.