As the Chairman of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation, Lee Farkas services a portfolio exceeding $65 billion that keeps his company among the top 10 wholesale lenders in the country. In addition to introducing cutting-edge initiatives in the financial industry, Farkas also finds time to unwind, help worthy causes in Ocala, and mull over the one question he’d really like to ask U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

You say moving to Ocala was a life changing moment, how so?

I came here penniless after living in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands to help someone sell a troubled subdivision in Marion County. After I got here, I was too poor to go anywhere else. So, I started building houses for retirees which was somewhat disastrous. Then, in 1990, I bought Taylor, Bean & Whitaker and grew it after a few first tough years.

What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?

To buy Taylor, Bean & Whitaker.

Worst decision?

Too many to list one.

As the owner of the Marion Theatre, do you have plans to give it a new life?

Yes, I do. We now have a liquor license and are removing 40 percent of the existing seats and replacing them with Las Vegas-style tables and seating. We are going to show first-run movies the second week they come out while serving food and beverages. I’ve given the theatre to the Taylor Bean Foundation who will operate it. If it makes money, the proceeds will go to charity.

Charities like?

Through the years, I’ve worked really hard for the Salvation Army because almost every dollar they get goes to people who need it the most. People who work for the Army have selflessly devoted their lives to helping others, many of whom are homeless and have serious disorders and challenges. I also like to give to the Humane Society and lend support locally and to one in Maine. Helping animals are a tough cause during hard times.

Why Maine?

I bought a place there a few years ago. It’s a 1911-circa camp on 20 acres on a lake. I’ve renovated it… still renovating it. I have an office there on site so a lot of the Taylor Bean people go there during the summer. It’s hard to get there, but worth it. I try to go at least one or two weeks each year.

Where do you go to get away from it all?

40,000 feet up in my plane.

What music are you currently listening to?

Classic rock and roll, although my taste is pretty eclectic. I like the old stuff. Music tags things to memories like the Don McLean song “American Pie.” I was in the Air National Guard training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Every day when I was marching back to camp the base would play “American Pie.” It was so good to hear that song because you knew you were almost done for the day.

Childhood dream?

To be a famous boxer!

Read anything lately?

I just finished another book by John Grisham. I read all of his work. I tried to read Alan Greenspan’s book but couldn’t finish it. Too big of a vocabulary for me.

If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be and what would be your first question?

I’d like to have dinner with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. I’d ask him what is the Treasury’s expectation for the country’s independent community banks. The jury is totally out on him. The Treasury Department doesn’t know what they are doing and they are understaffed and overworked. I visited them recently. They don’t have a clear-cut policy.

What advice would you give to Geithner?

Decide what your policy is and stay the course.

Guilty pleasures:

Food: Guacamole and tostadas.
Drink: Ramos Gin Fizz.
Snack: Those little mini Snickers Bars.

Movies that made you…

Cry: The Wrestler.
Laugh: Little Miss Sunshine.
Cringe: Silence of the Lambs.

One thing you can’t live without?

My airplane, a Falcon 2000 jet. I don’t fly it, but I’m a great passenger.