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aristocles

(594 posts)
4. Other presidents as businessmen
Wed May 23, 2012, 07:58 AM
May 2012
http://www.activategroupinc.com/2012/02/20/presidents-who-were-also-businessmen/|

•George Washington built a whiskey distillery on Mount Vernon the year he left office, which eventually became one of the largest distilleries in the country.
•Herbert Hoover started a mining consulting firm with offices in London, San Francisco, New York, Paris and Petrograd.
•Warren Harding bought a newspaper that was nearly bankrupt and made it so successful that it provided his income for decades, including while he was running for office.
•Franklin Roosevelt founded the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation as a hydrotherapy and healing spa for polio victims.
•Harry Truman opened a clothing store in Kansas City, which was initially successful but eventually went bankrupt.
•Jimmy Carter took over his family’s peanut farm and eventually grew it into a multi-million dollar business that included warehouses, a peanut-shelling plant, and farm equipment supplies.
•George H.W. Bush founded the Bush-Overby Oil Development company and co-founded the Zapata Petroleum Corporation; business ventures that made him a millionaire.
•George W. Bush invested $800,000 in the Texas Rangers baseball team and later sold that share for $15 million.
I got one of the two jsmirman May 2012 #1
Yup - the only reason businessmen are elected is to screw us over. Initech May 2012 #2
I hate it when people think someone should be elected to "run government like a business." trotsky May 2012 #3
More importantly, government is supposed to do the things the free market can't and WON'T do TrollBuster9090 May 2012 #13
Bingo. The Constitution clearly states that one of the main functions of our government PA Democrat May 2012 #16
Other presidents as businessmen aristocles May 2012 #4
See... Harding was my second choice jsmirman May 2012 #6
They never even discussed their tangential associations with business, except Hoover and Bush louis c May 2012 #8
There was a lot of discussion of G H W Bush's role in Zapata FarCenter May 2012 #10
That's a far cry from tauting one's business credentials (NT) louis c May 2012 #32
The Warm Springs Polio Rehabilitation Center thucythucy May 2012 #14
Which of them ran on their business background though? NYC Liberal May 2012 #28
Great point AnnieK401 May 2012 #5
The next time someone says run government like a business Gman May 2012 #7
I usually say that a real businessman would eliminate most of the DoD. Ikonoklast May 2012 #12
Whose ROI? Yours and mine, or Exxon and GE? Makes a huge difference. n/t A Simple Game May 2012 #24
Imagine if the government had to account capital stock depreciation as a "loss"... Recursion May 2012 #25
When you start talking about the balance sheet Gman May 2012 #27
Ah, "Good Will" Recursion May 2012 #33
Capitalized lease? Gman May 2012 #41
Or just the accounting equation Recursion May 2012 #42
Credit to the liability for the lease, Gman May 2012 #43
Great post! CanonRay May 2012 #9
Great point! But I think Woody Allen did it better in What's Up Tiger Lilly. TrollBuster9090 May 2012 #11
And why don't Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter count? nt Romulox May 2012 #15
Actually Harry Truman had part ownership in a men's wear store. yellowcanine May 2012 #17
And Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer. That is a business. yellowcanine May 2012 #18
How is a lack of business experience helpful? badtoworse May 2012 #19
Oh, god Doctor_J May 2012 #29
What an erudite response. badtoworse May 2012 #31
It's not the experience so much as the objective. baldguy May 2012 #36
I fully agree. badtoworse May 2012 #40
At the very least, a president had advisors Gman May 2012 #44
LBJ owned radio and TV stations. yellowcanine May 2012 #20
President Obama made a statement recently about just that FailureToCommunicate May 2012 #21
He was absolutely correct badtoworse May 2012 #22
Corporations are sitting on trillions in retained earnings, the "private sector" xtraxritical May 2012 #26
don't feed the troll, xx Doctor_J May 2012 #30
Do you ever post anything worth reading? badtoworse May 2012 #34
Jimmy Carter barbtries May 2012 #23
That was my first thought too RZM May 2012 #38
You give Bush too much credit eallen May 2012 #35
His"business background" was largely a failure. baldguy May 2012 #37
Important post RogerShuler May 2012 #39
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