Neil Bush

Neil Bush
Born Neil Mallon Pierce Bush
(1955-01-22) January 22, 1955
Midland, Texas
Education B.A. and M.B.A. Tulane University
Occupation Businessman
Religion Episcopalian
Spouse(s) Sharon Smith (1980–2003)
Maria Andrews (2004–present)
Children with Smith:
--Lauren Bush
--Ashley Bush
--Pierce Bush
Parent(s) George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush

Neil Mallon Pierce Bush (born January 22, 1955) is an American businessman and investor. He is the fourth of six children of former President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush (née Pierce). His five siblings are George W. Bush, the former President of the United States; Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida; Robin Bush, who died of leukemia in 1953 at the age of three; Marvin; and Dorothy. Neil Bush is currently a businessman based in Texas.

Early years

Bush was born in Midland, Texas. He was named after a good friend of the family, Henry Neil Mallon, chairman of Dresser Industries, George H. W. Bush's employer. As a child Bush spent some summers and holidays at his family's estate in Maine, the Bush compound.

At age 11, he entered the exclusive St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. He struggled through school; a counselor told his mother that it was doubtful the boy had the potential to graduate. He was later diagnosed as having dyslexia, and his mother spent much time coaching him through his learning disability. Eventually his grades improved and he graduated from St. Albans in 1973.

After St. Albans, Bush attended Tulane University, where he earned an economics degree in 1977. He earned an MBA in 1979.[1]

Neil Mallon Bush, the leftmost person in the front row in this photograph of the Bush family taken in the early 1960s

Career and business dealings

Silverado Savings & Loan

Neil Bush was a member of the board of directors of Denver-based Silverado Savings and Loan during the 1980s' larger savings and loan crisis. As his father, George H. W. Bush, was Vice President of the United States, his role in Silverado's failure was a focal point of publicity. According to a piece in Salon, Silverado's collapse cost taxpayers $1.3 billion.[2]

The US Office of Thrift Supervision investigated Silverado's failure and determined that Bush had engaged in numerous "breaches of his fiduciary duties involving multiple conflicts of interest." Although Bush was not indicted on criminal charges, a civil action was brought against him and the other Silverado directors by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; it was eventually settled out of court, with Bush paying $50,000 as part of the settlement.[3]

A friend who also donated funds to the Republican Party set up a fund to help defer costs Neil incurred in his S&L legal defense.[4]

Ignite! Learning

Main article: Ignite!

In 1999, Bush co-founded Ignite! Learning, an educational software corporation. Bush has said he started Austin-based Ignite! Learning because of his learning difficulties in middle school and those of his son, Pierce.[5] The software uses multiple intelligence methods to provide varying types of content to appeal to multiple learning styles.

To fund Ignite!, Bush raised $23 million from US investors, including his parents, as well as businessmen from Taiwan, Japan, Kuwait, the British Virgin Islands and the United Arab Emirates, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Documented investors include Russian billionaire expatriate Boris Berezovsky, Berezovsky's partner Badri Patarkatsishvili, Kuwaiti company head Mohammed Al Saddah, and Chinese computer executive Winston Wong.

In 2002, Neil Bush commended his brother, George, for his efforts on education as President, but he questioned the emphasis on constant testing to keep federal aid coming to public schools: “I share the concerns of many that if our system is driven around assessments, pencil-and-paper tests that test a kid's ability to memorize stuff, I would say that reliance threatens to institutionalize bad teaching practices.”[6]

As of October 2006, over 13 US school districts (out of over 14,000 school districts nationwide[7]) have used federal funds made available through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in order to buy Ignite's portable learning centers at $3,800 apiece.[8]

A December 2003 Style section article in the Washington Post reported that Bush's salary from Ignite! was $180,000 per year.[3]

Bush's relationship with the late controversial oligarch Boris Berezovsky, a political enemy of Russian President Vladimir Putin who at the time of his death had been under indictment for fraud in Russia and an applicant for asylum in the United Kingdom,[8] has been noted in the media. Berezovsky had been an investor in Bush's Ignite! program since at least 2003.[9] Bush met with Berezovsky in Latvia. The meeting caused tension between that country and Russia due to Berezovsky's fugitive status.[9] Bush was also seen in Berezovsky's box at an Arsenal's Emirates Stadium for a game in 2006,[10] which prompted some stateside criticism.[11] There has also been speculation in the English language Moscow Times that the relationship may cause tension in U.S.-Russian bilateral relations, "especially since Putin has taken pains to build a personal relationship with the U.S. president."[12]

Kopin stock trades

In July 1999, Bush made at least $798,000 on three stock trades in a single day of a company where he had been employed as a consultant. The company, Kopin Corporation of Taunton, Massachusetts, announced on the same day good news about a new Asian client that sent its stock value soaring. Bush stated that he had no inside knowledge and that his financial advisor had recommended the trades. He said, "any increase in the price of the stock on that day was purely coincidental, meaning that I did not have any improper information."[13]

When asked in January 2004 about the stock trades, Bush contrasted the capital gains he reported in 1999 and 2000 with the capital losses on Kopin stock he reported ($287,722 in all) in 2001. In 2001 Kopin joined a broad decline in high-tech stock valuations.[14]

Speaking engagements

Bush has often been invited to speak to audiences overseas. Bush says he has courtesy visits with world leaders but has no plans to wade into foreign policy. "Oftentimes because of my father's goodwill, and because of the president being who he is, people might extend an invitation, and it's enjoyable for me," Bush said. "Some of these folks are family friends."[15]

Speaking at a Saudi Arabian economic forum in January 2002, Bush referred to growing anti-American sentiment in Arab countries and said the two peoples must communicate better. He said the Arab P.R. machine is not as good as Israel's.[16]

Bush frequently travels to the Middle East, Europe and Asia to negotiate deals and raise capital for various businesses. According to court filings from his divorce, in 2000 he was paid $1.3 million for such work. This includes $642,500 as a commission for introducing an Asian investor to the owners of an American high-tech company.[3] The George W. Bush-era White House Administration appeared unfazed by his world travel. "The president knows his brother will always do the right thing," press secretary Ari Fleischer said."[15]

Other business engagements

In 2002, Bush signed a consulting contract that paid $2 million in stock over five years to work for Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a firm backed by Jiang Mianheng, the son of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, plus $10,000 for every board meeting he attends.[17]

Bush serves as co-chairman of a company called Crest Investment. Crest pays him $60,000 a year to provide miscellaneous consulting services.[18][19]

In 2011, Neil Bush incorporated an accounting firm called LehmanBush with veteran China lawyer Edward Lehman.[20]

Philanthropy and charity involvement, volunteer work

Points of Light

Neil Bush is the Chairman of Points of Light; an international nonprofit that works to increase volunteerism in the world.[21] Points of Light has approximately 250 affiliates in 22 countries and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and companies dedicated to volunteer service around the world. In 2012, Points of Light mobilized 4 million volunteers in 30 million hours of service worth $635 million.[22]

Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue

Bush was a founding director, along with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI), of the Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue (FIIRD). The foundation promotes ecumenical understanding and publishes religious texts and was founded in 1999. Bush is no longer on the board of the foundation.[18]

Anti-Ritalin campaign

In 2002, Neil Bush told the New York Post that he "endured his own Ritalin hell seven years ago when educators in a Houston private school diagnosed his son, Pierce, (then) 16, with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and pushed medication."

In a September 26, 2002, episode of CNN Interview,[23] Bush told Connie Chung:

“ You know, we have a knee-jerk reaction in this education system where, if the kid doesn't perform well, then the reaction is to try to assign a label. The label is followed by a drug. The drug allows the kid to sit cooperatively, to pay attention, to focus in school. ”

Bush spent years researching the issue and found that "the educators were wrong" about his son. "There is a systemic problem in this country, where schools are often forcing parents to turn to Ritalin," he said. "It's obvious to me that we have a crisis."

Also that year, Bush testified before a hearing of the United States Congress to speak out against over-medicating children for learning disorders.

He has suggested that many parents believe the ADD and ADHD diagnoses and subsequent medicating of their children because it explains why they aren't doing well in school, saying "it's the system that is failing to engage children in the classroom. My heart goes out to any parents who are being led to believe their kids have a disorder or are disabled."[24]

Neil Bush (along with filmmaker Michael Moore) is credited in the cast of a 2005 documentary film, The Drugging of Our Children[25] directed by Gary Null. In the film's trailer[26] Bush says: "Just because it is easy to drug a kid and get them to be compliant doesn't make it right to do it."

Unification Church

In Asia, Bush accompanied Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, on his world peace tour.[27] In 2009 Bush congratulated Moon on the publication of his autobiography at a Unification Church sponsored event. He was quoted as saying: "Rev. Moon is presenting a very simple concept. We are all children of God."[28]

Personal life

Bush was married to Sharon Smith (b. May 19, 1952) for 23 years. They are the parents of three children: Lauren Pierce Bush (b. June 25, 1984), Pierce Mallon Bush (b. March 11, 1986) and Ashley Walker Bush (b. February 7, 1989). The couple divorced in April 2003. Bush's divorce deposition gained public attention when he admitted to several sexual encounters in Thailand and Hong Kong.[3][29][30][31]

In 2004, Bush remarried in Houston, Texas, to Mexican-born Maria Andrews,[32] a volunteer at the Houston literacy-foundation office of Bush's mother, Barbara. Robert Andrews, Andrews' ex-husband, sued Sharon Bush in September 2003 for defamation after she alleged that Neil Bush was the father of Andrews' two-year-old son.[3]

Ancestry

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Neil Bush at NNDB
  2. ↑ Marshall, Joshua Micah (April 12, 2002). "Presidential brother watch: Globe-hopping Neil Bush has impressive new business partners, but what are they buying?". Salon.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Carlson, Peter (December 28, 2003). "The Relatively Charmed Life Of Neil Bush". Washington Post. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  4. ↑ DuBose, Louis (March 16, 2001). "O, Brother! Where Art Thou?". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  5. ↑ Campbell, Ruth (August 29, 2006). "Bush brother visits Alamo Jr. High". Midland Reporter-Telegram. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  6. ↑ Peale, Cliff (January 29, 2002). "Neil Bush promotes brother, business". The Cincinnati Enquirer. republished online by Madison E-Zone News & Events. Archived from the original on March 12, 2004. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Table 10. Number of School Districts and Distribution of the School-Age Population by the Total School District Population: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau.
  8. 1 2 Roche, Walter F., Jr. (October 22, 2006). "Bush's Family Profits From `No Child' Act". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Berezovsky, Neil Bush, Latvian businessmen meet". Baltic Times. September 23, 2005. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  10. ↑ Kelso, Paul (4 September 2006). "Berezovsky and Bush's brother in the crowd at the Emirates". The Guardian (London). Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Neil Bush: Still Crooked After All These Years". Wonkette.com. October 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 19, 2006. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  12. ↑ Belton, Catherine (October 6, 2005). "Berezovsky Teams Up With Bush's Brother". The Moscow Times. republished online by National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy. Archived from the original on November 2, 2006. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  13. ↑ Yost, Pete (December 31, 2003). "Neil Bush made 1-day stock profit of $171,370". Houston Chronicle. Associated Press. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Neil Bush makes one-day profit over $170,000". CNN.com. January 2, 2004. Archived from the original on June 19, 2006.
  15. 1 2 "Neil Bush enters educational software business". USA Today. April 8, 2002.
  16. ↑ Tapper, Jake (January 24, 2002). "Neil Bush says Arab P.R. machine not as good as Israel's". Salon.com. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Bush's younger brother quizzed over $2m deal". The Sydney Morning Herald. November 26, 2003.
  18. 1 2 Royce, Knut; Brune, Tom (April 21, 2005). "Neil Bush, Ratzinger co-founders: President's younger brother served with then-cardinal on board of relatively unknown ecumenical foundation". Newsday.
  19. ↑ "Bush brother's divorce reveals sex romps". CNN. November 24, 2003.
  20. ↑ http://www.lehmanbush.com
  21. ↑ Board of Directors, Points of Light Institute
  22. ↑ "Points of Light 2012 Year in Review" (PDF). Points of Light. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  23. ↑ "TRANSCRIPT: Interview With Neil Bush; Interview With Magic Johnson". Connie Chung Tonight (CNN). September 26, 2002. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Ritalin Roundup Continues". Education Reporter. New York, New York: Eagle Forum. September 2002. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  25. ↑ "The Drugging of Our Children (2005) (V)". IMDb.com. Internet Movie Database.
  26. ↑ The Drugging of Our Children Film Detail at Ostrow and Company
  27. ↑ "Neil Bush travels with Moon as 'peace leader'". InformationLiberation.com. December 2, 2005. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  28. ↑ Parry, Robert (October 2, 2009). "WTimes, Bushes Hail Rev. Moon". Consortium News. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Bush brother's divorce reveals sex romps". CNN.com. November 24, 2003.
  30. ↑ "Neil Bush tells of hotel trysts in Asia". Taipei Times. The Guardian (New York). November 28, 2003. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  31. ↑ Harwood, Anthony (July 14, 2003). "Bush Brother's Three Affairs". Mirror (UK).
  32. ↑ Ward, Vicky (April 2004). "The Inconvenient Sharon Bush". Vanity Fair.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, May 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.