Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Bush Boys' Lehman Bonuses


President George Bush's cousin, George Herbert Walker, and brother Jeb stand to take home $250,000 in Lehman Brothers bonuses, despite the firm's bankruptcy. Forbes reported:


Barclays controversially guaranteed a $2.5 billion bonus pool for New York-based Lehman employees, an amount greater than the $1.7 billion it is paying for the company. Angry Lehman workers in London wanted to know why they weren't similarly guaranteed.

The $2.5 billion bonus fund, which was kept separate from Lehman's bankruptcy filing, works out to $250,000 for each New York-based Lehman employee, which is better than the $180,000 average Wall Street bonus in 2007, when Lehman was still a solvent company.

Hank Paulson's letting Lehman fall kept the Bush name off the Wall Street bailout front pages. It likely preserved their right to garner those big bonuses. While uncovered bond holders lose their shirt, the Bush family profits.

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