Jeb Bush: Clearing the decks for a tilt at the White House. Photo: AP
Washington: Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, moving closer to a possible presidential run, has stepped down as a paid adviser to a for-profit education company that sells online courses to public university students in exchange for a share of their tuition payments.
Mr Bush's decision is another in a string of moves he has made in recent days to shed business interests that have enriched him since leaving office in 2007.
Late on December 31, a Bush aide told The Washington Post that the former governor had stepped down from all of his business and nonprofit board memberships, including the chairmanship of his education foundation, "effective today".
Aides said he wants to devote his time to exploring a return to politics rather than pursuing his business commitments. But separating himself from those interests now could pre-empt some political problems as he prepares for the added scrutiny of a hotly contested campaign for the Republican nomination.
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Mr Bush's financial stake in Academic Partnerships has been relatively small for a millionaire - a $US60,000-a-year fee and ownership of a small amount of stock, according to Randy Best, the company's founder and chief executive.
Even so, Mr Bush's affiliation with the firm could complicate his effort to promote his record as an education reformer.
Mr Bush's decision to leave the company had not been public until his office disclosed it Wednesday to The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, an aide said Mr Bush was reviewing other businesses in which he is principal partner or owner, such as Jeb Bush & Associates, a consulting firm, and Britton Hill Partnership, a business advisory group that in 2013 set up private equity funds investing in energy and aviation. Mr Bush's connection to Britton Hill was reported by Bloomberg in July.
Mr Bush's decision to extricate himself from his private-sector work is "part and parcel of a process he is going through as he transitions to focus on a potential run for president", said his spokeswoman, Kristy Campbell. "This is a natural next step that will allow him to focus his time on gauging interest for a potential run."
The effort underscores the lengths to which Mr Bush - who has become the favourite prospective candidate of many major GOP donors and has been at or near the top of polls testing the possible Republican presidential field - appears willing to go to avoid pitfalls that hurt the party in 2012. That year, GOP nominee Mitt Romney, founder of a private-equity fund, struggled to explain his business background while under attack by GOP rivals and President Barack Obama.
Mr Bush, 61, lamented Mr Romney's handling of the criticism in an interview with Miami's WPLG-TV last month. Mr Bush said the 2012 nominee allowed himself to be pulled "off message" and should have told voters: "I'm a problem solver. My life has been about building things up."
Of his own business record, Mr Bush said: "I'm not ashamed. Taking risk and creating jobs is something we ought to have more of."
Mr Bush's business portfolio is far smaller than that of Mr Romney, who founded one of the country's most successful private-equity firms. Yet it is complicated and could present political problems because he has affiliated with a broad range of industries and businesses.
Mr Bush announced last month that he was ending his consulting relationship with Barclays, the British investment banking conglomerate. The New York Times reported in May that the company paid Bush more than $1 million a year.
Recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings revealed that Mr Bush was leaving the boards of two publicly traded firms: Rayonier, which invests in forest lands, and Tenet Healthcare, which backed President Obama's health-insurance initiative and profited from its passage.
Academic Partnerships stood out in Bush's business portfolio because it allowed him to combine a public policy issue he cared about with a business investment.
Mr Bush's reputation as an education reformer stems from his work on K-12 education as governor and as the head of a foundation. He has been an advocate for online learning as a tool to expand opportunities for students.
Washington Post
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