As excitement ran into online disbelief related to this past weekend’s record $237 million donation to Florida A&M University, donor and CEO Gregory Gerami says he doesn’t understand the misgivings about the gift.
“The stocks have been held by the university for over a month now, so I don’t know where the confusion or the skepticism would be since it’s already in a financial account with the university,” Gerami said.
The 30-year-old hemp farmer, investor and entrepreneur drew the national spotlight with his gift, which appears to be both the largest in history at FAMU and any of the other 100-plus historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, in the country.
But little is known about Gerami, his business or the Issac Batterson 7th Family Trust that put up the money. They have a remarkably small online footprint, and news that his $95 million “transformational” planned gift to Coastal Carolina University fell through last year has further fueled alumni concerns.
FAMU’s communications office set up a late-afternoon online news conference Monday afternoon with Gerami — founder of the Batterson Farms Corporation — to clear up “miscommunicated” information and “set the record straight” on the historic stock donation worth $237,750,000.
FAMU Vice President of Alumni Affairs Carmen Cummings and Vice President for University Advancement Shawnta Friday-Stroud — who also is executive director of the FAMU Foundation — also were on the call, organized for the Tallahassee Democrat, Bloomberg and the Inside Higher Ed.
This just in:FAMU Board of Trustees Vice Chair calls for emergency meeting, ‘transparency’ on $237M gift
Cummings told the Democrat the university has full faith in the donation and are expecting “great things” on the horizon.
But university officials, who have said they are bound by a non-disclosure agreement on details of the donation, left it largely up to Gerami to answer questions.
“This is a main example why I don’t have an internet presence, nor do I care to have one,” Gerami said of the online skepticism. “People take things out of context. They run and they damage and hurt people with information that’s incorrect and just not appropriate.”
‘We are fully aware of the skepticism,’ FAMU says
Gerami announced the donation during Saturday’s spring commencement ceremony at the Al Lawson Center on campus. The announcement has been stirring up mixed reactions from FAMU supporters and alumni, with some believing the donation is too good to be true. Others have criticized those who are questioning the university’s due diligence and planting seeds of doubt about the philanthropist.
Previous coverage:Graduation surprise: FAMU gets record $237M gift from Batterson Farms CEO Gregory Gerami
As the discussion swirled online, FAMU issued a statement Sunday.
“We are fully aware of the skepticism that sometimes comes with such a large gift,” the university said in the statement. “As expected, some individuals in the public are and will continue researching Mr. Gerami.
“Please know that FAMU has done its due diligence when it comes to this matter. Additionally, Mr. Gerami has and continues to do his own due diligence on things that have been and are happening at FAMU.”
Friday-Stroud told the Tallahassee Democrat Saturday that Gerami and the Issac Batterson 7th Family Trust have already transferred the stocks — some of which are invested in hydroponic farming and agriculture businesses — to the FAMU Foundation’s account, and the university holds certificates for those stocks.
Sunday’s statement went further.
“Mr. Gerami’s $237,750,000 stock transfer was received in the same manner in which we have accepted all other stocks donated to the University through the FAMU Foundation Inc,” FAMU wrote. “As with any non-cash gift received, such as cryptocurrency, real estate and stocks, it will be converted to cash and recorded appropriately.”
The transfer was made over a month ago, and the donation amount represents what the stock price was at the time they were transferred.
Although the plan is for the university to sell the stocks before the year is over, specifics about a potential date cannot be shared due to the non-disclosure agreement, Gerami said.
By Tuesday afternoon, the vice chair of Florida A&M University’s Board of Trustees was calling on FAMU President Larry Robinson and board chair Kristin Harper to convene a public “emergency” meeting for the university community to learn more about a recent $237 million donation.
“As Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, I have a responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the university I cherish,” he said in a prepared statement, “but I have deep concerns that this process is moving too quickly to embrace a gift without proper scrutiny.”’
Gerami traces his path to prosperity, but declines to release net worth
Gerami says the multi-million-dollar gift to FAMU is the first donation he has ever made at that level.
It comes after someone from his team initially reached out to FAMU’s Office of University Advancements about the donation proposal about six months ago, in which they were connected to Audrey Simmons Smith, the office’s director of development and corporate relations.
During Monday’s call, Gerami explained how his journey of building up his wealth over time started with a landscaping and property management business that he owned before selling it in 2016.
He then launched an investment company called Batterson Southeast Capital Group from 2017 to 2020 before shifting to hydroponic farming of plants with Batterson Farms Corporation, which was established in 2021.
The corporation is a hydroponic produce business with industrial hemp. He says the company makes money through an agreement with a farming buyback program, where the company is provided with seeds and grows them so that the seed’s products — such as cannabidiol (CBD) oil — can be bought back.
Hemp plants contain a percentage of CBD oil that often varies, and the oil can be bought back at 15 cents for each percent of CBD oil found in a hemp plant. He said such an arrangement could yield about $53 million a year.
In April 2023, Lubbock, Texas-based TV station KAMC reported that Gerami, said to be the youngest African American hemp producer in Texas, bought 114 acres of land with seven warehouses with a goal of hiring 600 people and building the largest commercial hydroponic site in West Texas.
Gerami said he currently has only a few full-time administrative employees but about 7,000 indirect and contract employees that he expects to grow to a little bit over 10,000 by the end of the year. He also says his company — with offices in Van Horn and San Antonio, Texas — is expanding to about four more new warehouses across the country in the next year or so.
He said he has about 2,500 plants per acre, but he declined to share his annual revenue or net worth.
“I gave all the money away, I can tell you that,” he said.
Although he did not go into the specific of his stock investments, he says his company has benefited from investments in hydroponic farming-related businesses as well as other companies that invest in hydroponics, which is a method where plants are grown by using a water-based nutrient solution instead of soil.
He also said the non-disclosure agreement and his “fiduciary responsibilities to the trust” barred him from revealing any more details about the Isaac Batterson family trust, which he described as a holding company for the assets that funded the FAMU endowment.
When asked why he chose FAMU, Gerami says the university’s mission, direction and research capabilities in the area of hemp production strongly align with the work and goals of his farming company.
“When we look at our legacy and our business — and as I exit out of my business, which should happen in the next couple of years — FAMU is the designated spot as I expand on charitable giving in research,” Gerami said. “I’ve gotten to know the folks at FAMU really well and I consider them like family.”
Beyond philanthropy, he hopes to have a continued role at FAMU by being able to utilize the university’s research and agriculture programs for testing new products, among other things.
Gerami says he likes to stay in the background
While a lot of multi-millionaire entrepreneurs have a large online footprint and vast volume of news clips, Gerami said he intentionally stays in the background. His family is the reason for that, he says.
“I have a family, I have younger kids and I come from a large family,” Gerami said. “I was born one of eight kids and I have nine siblings even in my adopted family. Being a parent and being a family person, I have to protect my family, and their safety is the most important thing.”
He says he does well at “keeping things off the web and keeping things under the radar.”
“I will say everything is out there,” he added. “The only thing that you cannot find is the money. That’s really the only thing you can’t find online.”
Gerami responds to viral post asking ‘has FAMU been fooled’
Among the individuals who question the validity of Gerami’s $237 million donation to FAMU is Howard University alum Jerell Blakeley, who wrote a column in Education News Flash’s HBCU Digest titled “For the Love of Money, has FAMU been fooled?”
Blakeley questioned how quickly Gerami built up his wealth, the lack of a money trail with Batterson Farms and his scattered social media presence.
“If this turns out to be a scam, the entire university leadership should resign for a massive lack of vetting,” Blakeley wrote in the viral piece.
He also noted that Gerami made headlines last year after he was identified as an anonymous donor behind a $95 million “transformational” planned gift to Coastal Carolina University. But things went sour over the span of four months, according to reporting by the Myrtle Beach Sun-News.
In a press release at the time, the university said that it was “terminating its agreement with the donor, citing an unfulfilled early expectation of the arrangement.”
Gerami, however, told the Sun-News “he felt disrespected” by officials, which is why the deal fell through. He said the circumstance at FAMU and CCU are completely different because no money had ever changed hands. He said they never made it to the stock transfer at CCU, which is completed at FAMU.
While addressing the HBCU Digest column, Gerami said Blakeley called him at around 10 p.m. Sunday with “a bunch of questions” and information that was “completely wrong.”
In his column, Blakeley wrote, “If I am wrong, I will publicly apologize in the same manner I raised my inquiries. More importantly, I hope I am wrong. I would love nothing more for historically black colleges to get their fair share of this nation’s wealth.”
What Gerami’s told students during FAMU commencement speech
FAMU formally introduced Gerami to the university community as the keynote speaker for its last spring 2024 graduation ceremony, where three total commencement events were held over the weekend.
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Before the announcement of the $237 million, Gerami, in a seven-minute speech, gave the FAMU graduates a brief look into his background and delivered a message of hope.
“From the moment of my birth, I faced obstacles that would shape the course of my life,” Gerami said. “Born to a single mother who was 24 with eight kids at the time, I entered the world facing circumstances beyond my control.”
He shared that due to his mother’s struggle with addiction, he was born with an opioid addiction and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy, seizure disorder and severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
But with support from a foster family that adopted him at a young age, and mentorship from former Arlington, Texas Mayor Robert Cluck, as well as a Merrill Lynch financial advisor, he says they helped him “find the strength to overcome the challenges.”
“My journey like yours is a testament to resilience, innovation and service,” Gerami said in his remarks. “Despite facing formidable challenges in my early life, I have dedicated myself to making a positive impact in the world of agriculture.”
He dubbed himself the youngest African American industrial hemp producer in Texas — a part of his speech that was followed by a round of applause as the crowd cheered him on.
“As you prepare to embark on your journey, I urge you to embrace the challenges that lie ahead of you,” Gerami said. “May you go forth with the knowledge that the greatest gifts in life are not found in what we receive, but in what we give.”
Ahead of the donation announcement, he received a President’s Award from FAMU President Larry Robinson for being a commencement speaker.
“The message here is that somebody is watching all of the time,” Robinson told the graduating students after the donation was announced. “They’ve heard about the great things that you are doing here at this institution under the stewardship of our outstanding faculty and staff.”
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
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