Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has begun to wind down his business affairs as he considers a run for president in 2016, with the Republican hoping to avoid the criticism Mitt Romney endured for his business background in 2012.
Bush is quitting Tenet Healthcare Corp., the Los Angeles Times reports, and is ending a consulting contract with Barclays Bank. He has stopped giving highly-paid speeches. Aides had signaled last week that such moves were coming, after Bush announced that he would “actively explore” a 2016 White House run.
In the 2012 presidential race, Romney drew persistent fire from Democrats for his work at the private equity firm Bain Capital.
Bush was involved in a number of major financial ventures since his time as governor ended in 2007. That year, Bush was hired as a financial advisor to Lehman Brothers, the New York firm that dealt in sour mortgages and collapsed ignominiously during the global financial crisis. He switched to Barclays after Lehman filed for bankruptcy. For both firms, he mostly consulted on macroeconomic trends and policies, a spokesman told the Times.
Bush also served on the Board of Directors of Tenet Healthcare Corp., which supported the 2010 health care reform law loathed by conservatives and saw revenues rise because of it. His role there could draw fire from Republicans in the primary campaign.
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