This report was published in July 2000. It should be considered outdated and is kept online for historical purposes only.

Please click the link below to see the latest information on the Bush Pioneer - Ranger Network

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Pioneer Profiles: George W. Bush's $100,000 Club
 
Name: William O. DeWitt, Jr.
Occupation: President, Reynolds DeWitt & Co.
Industry: Finance
Home: Cincinnati, Ohio

 

Political Contributions:
Bush Gubernatorial Races: 
 $10,000
Republican Hard Money: 
$46,750
Republican Soft Money: 
$5,000
Democratic Hard Money: 
$0
Democratic Soft Money: 
$0
Federal PAC Hard Money:
$0
Total Contributions:
 $61,750
Soft Money from Employer:
$100,000
to Republicans:
$100,000
to Democrats:
$0
DeWitt and Pioneer Mercer Reynolds III owned Spectrum 7, the oil company that bailed out Bush’s hemorrhaging Bush Oil Co. in ’84. Both of these partners—who also own fast-food and convenience store interests—were big President Bush donors and major investors in the Texas Rangers baseball team, which made Bush a millionaire 15 times over. Much of this profit derived from a large equity stake that other partners in the investment gifted to Bush as well as the $135 million that local taxpayers forked out for the Rangers’ new Ballpark in Arlington. DeWitt, whose family once owned the Cincinnati Reds, is an owner of the St. Louis Cardinals with Pioneer Stephen Brauer. The Cardinals’ owners are clamoring for a new $370 million stadium to be financed with tax-exempt bonds—despite major recent expenditures to remodel Busch Stadium. “For the Cardinals to be a great franchise, a new ballpark is critical for St. Louis,” says DeWitt. The new stadium would have 1,800 fewer seats than Busch, but would feature high-profit luxury boxes. 


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