2008 Woodie Awards
Accounting genius Bert Padell advises students
Keith Lewis
Issue date: 2/5/03 Section: Features
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Padell, Nadell, Fine, and Weinberger & Co. is an accounting firm that primarily handles regular accounting and certified statements. They also manage business in the field of entertainment. They work with people in sports, movies and theater.
Bert Padell is one the most successful accountants in the entertainment industry. His roster includes the likes of Russell Simmons, Leyor Cohen, Madonna, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Alicia Keys, Brittany Spears, Eric B. and Rakim, Run DMC, De La Soul, Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Pink Floyd, Joe DiMaggio, Biggie Smalls, Lou Panella, Carl Banks and many more
Bert Padell attended Long Island University, Brooklyn Law School, and New York University Law School. He feels that school provides you with a foundation. You should be able to apply what you learn to your career.
As a student, Padell was the guy that just wanted to spend his time earning money. "I never came from big money, as a matter of fact, I never came from any money at all, so I went to school and I worked," he recalled.
He worked during the day and went to law school at night.
In school, he was a member of a fraternity but had no opportunities to hang out with them because he was always working. "Time is a very precious commodity, and if you have the time, you have to take advantage of it," he saids.
Padell worked for the New York Yankees before starting college. "I was a batboy for the New York Yankees from 1949 to 1950. I was going to sign a contract with them in 1951, but I hurt my leg and could not play anymore," said Padell.
His college roommate was Jackie Jenson who was a great baseball player and good friend. Jenson and his wife took care of Padell when he could not play baseball anymore and had decided to go to school and pursue his accounting career.
"I started to represent grocery stores, candy stores, decorators and many other types of businesses. When I got into the field of entertainment, everything exploded. When you start to represent one person, they think you are good and recommend you to another person. That's how it all started," explained Padell.
With the current entertainment industry constantly changing, he feels that companies like Napster, Kazaa and others do not care about the songwriters, or anybody else in the business. If they did, they would make sure songwriters were protected.