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Born poor, now self-made billionaires-Ken Lewis


The high profile chairman of Bank of America, Ken Lewis worked his way through Georgia State University as an accountant and an airline ticket-agent, graduating with a finance degree in 1969. He worked as a credit analyst at North Carolina National Bank.

The bank was eventually taken over by Bank of America. He became Bank of America's chief operating officer in 1999 and chairman in 2005.

In April, the Bank of America shareholders voted to separate the positions of Chairman of the Board and CEO, effectively removing CEO 61-year old Lewis from his position as Chairman of the Board of BofA, though he remained both the bank's president and its CEO due to the shareholders' resentment over the takeover of Merril Lynch for $50 billion.

Lewis has announced his retirement from Bank of America effective as of December 31, 2009. The Securities and Exchange Commission and New York's Attorney General are investigating whether Lewis misled Bank of America shareholders before the Merrill Lynch acquisition.

Merrill has paid out billions in bonuses to its staff that were allegedly not fully disclosed. His annual compensation in 2008 fiscal year stood at $1,500,000.

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