$200,000; audaciously doubling the ransom of $100,000 paid by the Hamm family. Both victims were released unharmed, after about a week. In 1943, Otto created the Otto Bremer Company as a holding corporation to consolidate his interests in these banks (by this time, he was the major or sole owner of most of them). He also created the Otto Bremer Foundation in 1944, as a charitable organization to grant funds for public purposes in the small towns where there was a Bremer bank. The Foundation was funded from the profits of the Bremer bank holding company. As of 2009, the Foundation donates about $25 million each year. In addition, bank employees are strongly encouraged to volunteer in local town activities. Each year, these employees donate more than 100,000 volunteer hours. Bremer served as Treasurer of the City of St. Paul for over 10 years and was advisor to presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was subsequently appointed by Roosevelt to manage the Federal Home Owner's Loan Corporation of Minnesota. Legacy When Otto Bremer died in 1951, he left most of his fortune and his stock in the Otto Bremer Bank Company to the Otto Bremer Trust. The Trust remains the major owner of the Bremer Bank Company, holding about 92% of the stock. The remaining stock is owned by employees or retired employees of the company. Bremer Bank Bremer Bank is the name of the banks owned by the Bremer Financial Corporation, a bank holding company founded by Otto Bremer in 1943. They operate bank branches in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, with a financial capitalization of about $1 billion and total assets of $12.3 billion. With headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, the company is completely owned by employees and the Otto Bremer Trust. Notes References External links Bremer Banks website Otto Bremer Foundation website 1867 births 1951 deaths American bankers American philanthropists