What Do You give a Bush Who Has Everything?

Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit

The Guardian - May 18, 2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,717765,00.html

What do you give a Bush with everything?

Matthew Engel in Washington

A couple of fishing rods. Eleven ties. Enough Italian fabric for a
suit.  A golf cart. The Beatles Anthology book (signed by the donor,
Sir Paul McCartney). A silver and gold belt buckle with the
presidential seal.  Two chainsaws (donated by a hardware dealer in
Ohio). And a handmade wooden bench (presented by section C of the
Harvard Business School, class of '75).

These are a few of President Bush's favourite things. Or at any rate,
some of the gifts he has received in his capacity as president which
he has decided to keep, and was obliged to disclose in forms sent to
the office of government ethics.

Most gifts are handed over to the national archives, and the value of
each one he keeps has to be solemnly assessed.

They added up to almost $22,000 (£15,000), the golf cart - a present
from the champion golfer Ben Crenshaw - accounting for a third of it. 
The Beatles book was valued at $310.

Mrs Bush, whose tastes are somewhat different from the president's,
kept 15 of the books given to her, along with a silk scarf and some
perfume.

All this is a fraction of the Bush family's total assets. Mr and Mrs
Bush declared a net worth of between $9m and $19m (£6m-13m), much of
it deriving from their Texas ranch, which is valued - rather vaguely
- at between $1m and $5m.

The Bush daughters have healthy looking trusts, valued at almost
$800,000 each. Some of their shares, however, look less than
promising: the troubled telecoms firm Worldcom is in the portfolio,
though there is no mention of Enron.

The Bushes are not just recipients, however. In the luggage for Mrs
Bush's current trip to Europe is a crystal and lacquer box for the
French first lady, Bernadette Chirac, whose birthday is today.

The Bushes' wealth is dwarfed by that of the second man in the
government, Vice-President Cheney, who with his wife Lynne is said to
be worth between $23m and $70m (£16m-48m). Mr Cheney spent the 1990s
boom as the chief executive of the oil company Halliburton, while Mr
Bush was rather less well placed to get rich as governor of Texas.

Mr Cheney also owns land in the Washington suburb of McLean, worth up
$to 5m. This might be ideal as a retirement home for a man who, at
$63,
may be contemplating stepping down in 2004.

Among the gifts kept by Mr Cheney is a "special edition Winchester 94
Golden Spike commemorative 30-30 rifle," a gift marking his
retirement from the board of directors of the Union Pacific
Corporation. Official value: $425. Value of this disclosure in
maintaining his credibility with the American gun lobby: priceless.

See also: The Bush Quiz
http://www.guardian.co.uk/quiz/questions/0,5961,387782,00.html
 
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