William H.T. Bush

William H.T. Bush ("Bucky" Bush; William Trotter Bush) (1938- ) is the brother of former President George Herbert Walker Bush and uncle of President George W. Bush. Bush chairs Bush-O'Donnell & Co., "a holding company with interests in insurance, money management, investment banking and manufacturing," of St. Louis, Missouri.

Commercial interests: Engineered Support Systems
In January 2003, the Prince George's Journal (Maryland) reported :


 * "William H.T. (Bucky) Bush, an uncle of George W. Bush, is on the Board of Directors of a company which will benefit substantially from war with Iraq, according to financial analysts. The company, Engineered Support Systems, is based in St. Louis. William H.T. Bush was also a major Bush donor and campaign fund-raiser... Defense Department databases list Engineered Support Systems 54th in the Department of Defense's top 100 contractors for fiscal 2001 (up from 62nd for 2000). The company received over $297.5 million in military contracts in 2001, including $120.5 million from the Army. Since 2000, following the presidential election and 9/11, the company's federal contracts have gone up, its revenues have gone up, and its stock price has gone up. Net revenues for the first nine months of 2002, when the company acquired two new subsidiaries in Northern Virginia, increased to $289.7 million."

In February 2005, the Associated Press reported that William Bush had cashed in some of his ESS stock :


 * "An uncle of President Bush made more than 450-thousand dollars last month by selling stock in a defense contractor whose profits are growing because of the Iraq war. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it's been learned that William Bush made the money by exercising stock options in Engineered Support Systems, where he's also a board member. The youngest brother of former President Bush insists he had not pulled any strings in Washington for the company."

In a deal which closed January 2006, the sale of Engineered Support Systems Inc. to DRS Technologies of New Jersey netted Bucky about $1.9 million in cash, plus stock valued at $800,000, according to an SEC filing, reported the Los Angeles Times on 23 March 2006. 


 * "Before DRS purchased it, Missouri-based ESSI experienced record growth as a result of expanded U.S. military contracts — many to supply U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Other Affiliations

 * Trustee of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation


 * Member of the Board of Directors at Engineered Support Systems:


 * "Now, call me silly, but with Marvin Bush on the board of the security companies responsible for the World Trade Center, Dulles International and United Airlines and this guy [William H.T. Bush] helping to build 'quarantine' centers, I have to ask: What do the Bush's know and when did they decide it?"


 * Halliburton Company Connection: "...Lord Abbett & Co., with about 8 million shares of Halliburton. Lord Abbett's trustees, who manage billions controlled by this investment firm, include Bush uncle William H. T. Bush. Lord Abbett is also one of Halliburton's top ten mutual fund holders (another 4.7 million shares)."

Profiles
"William H.T. Bush, is chairman of the St. Louis-based investment firm, Bush O'Donnell & Co., which he founded in 1986. Previously, he was president and CEO of Boatmen's National Bank of St. Louis and began his career with the Hartford National Bank and Trust Co. in Connecticut. Bush has been a Director of the Company since 2000 and serves as a director of Mississippi Valley Bancshares, Inc., Maritz, Inc., RightChoice Managed Care, Inc., DT Industries, Inc. and The Lord Abbett family of Mutual Funds." 

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Week of November 10, 1997:


 * "In 1986, William H.T. Bush left Boatmen's Bank of St. Louis, where he served as president and director, to found Bush-O'Donnell & Co., a Clayton investment and financial advisory firm.


 * "Brother of former President George Bush, William Bush's firm's clients have included South Korea's Samsung group. Among its other deals, the company's Micro Partners investment partnership saw its stake in Microtek Medical Inc. rise nearly 40 percent when the medical supplies maker agreed to a $106.5 million sale last year.


 * "Bush serves on the board of directors of Mississippi Valley Bancshares, Maritz Inc., Southwest Bank, RightChoice Managed Care, D.T. Industries and Intrav Inc.


 * "He has also served on the boards of numerous civic organizations, including the Arthritis Foundation, Eastern Missouri Chapter, and was chairman of the board of the Gateway Arch Park Expansion, president of the St. Louis Variety Club and chairman of the Saint Louis University board of trustees."

According to his "Bush Pioneer Profile":


 * This Bush uncle co-founded a venture capital firm. He heads his nephew's fundraising operations in Missouri, which some analysts expect to be a potential swing state in November 2000. "Bucky" Bush sat on the board of the deluxe ocean liner company Intrav and received $405,000 for his shares in the company when it was purchased in '99. RightCHOICE Managed Care, a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri subsidiary, named him to its board in '97.

Edgar Online Listings
EdgarOnline Listings for William H.T. Bush; More Listings:


 * Director, Right Choice Managed Care, Inc. (1997-2001)
 * Director, Cobalt Corp. (2003)
 * Director, DT Industries, Inc. (1997-2003)
 * Director, Engineered Support Systems (2001-2003)
 * Director, Intrav, Inc. (1998, 1999)
 * Proxy, Lord Abbett Funds (2002)
 * Annual Report, Mississippi Valley Bancshares, Inc. (1997-2002)
 * Proxy, Search Financial Services, Inc. (1997)
 * Proxy, Wellpoint Health Networks, Inc./DE (2002-03)
 * Ownership Statement, Medix Resources, Inc. (2002)


 * "WellPoint also announced that William H.T. Bush, formerly a member of the RightCHOICE Board of Directors, has been elected as a Class II member of WellPoint's Board of Directors. Bush, who has served as a RightCHOICE director since 1994, is chairman of Bush-O'Donnell & Company of St. Louis, an investment management and financial advisory firm." --Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield, January 31, 2002.

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Bush Dynasty
 * Bush Family Genealogy
 * Bush's Rangers
 * war profiteering


 * Talk:Follow the money