he money he used to buy the team he borrowed from a Midland bank where he was a director using his Harken stock as collateral. His initial $500,000 investment grew to $606,000 and his final return was over $15 million. He was finally in the spotlight as a politician, a businessman, a sportsman, a family man, and as a down home man. He and his partners renovated The Ballpark in Arlington with bond money. His public relations were rising but things in Dallas were not going as smooth as in Arlington. When Bush sold all 212,140 of his Harken stocks in June of 1990 he received $848,569, more the 2 the original value. Less than two months later Harken made the quarterly report and they stated that the company lost more than $23 million dollars. Bush says he did not know that Harken was going to announce the loss yet he was still criticized by many who said that as a director he should have know. He compounded the problem by not filing a SEC form. After a SEC investigation he was cleared of all charges. One month later Bush resigned from Harken and declared his bid for Governor. Bush took a leave of absence from the Rangers to spend time campaigning for Governor. He traveled the state as a well-known man separate from his father, at least in personality. George’s social circle drew him crowds of the elite oil and businessmen to the down home baseball fans throughout Texas. George also gained a tart sense of humor when his sister died in 1953 of leukemia. His mother said that since more was expected from George, the oldest son, he diverted their attention by wisecracks and nicknames, a trait that he carries with him to this day. According to the June 1999 issue of Texas Monthly that may also of helped people relax and relate to him as a man and not just a politician while on his campaign trail. After George won the Governor election against Ann Hutchinson he put all of his Rangers assets in to a blind trust and did not sel...
