Jeb Bush spent several years after his second term as Florida governor ended working with Wall Street firms and was paid millions of dollars for his services, according to a detailed report.
The Wall Street Journal has an in-depth piece that takes a closer look at Bush's Wall Street work.
Bush, for example, was paid $1.3 million annually as a consultant to Lehman Brothers, and earned $2 million from Barclays.
As part of his work for Lehman Brothers, reports the Journal, Bush traveled to Mexico City to ask billionaire Carlos Slim to help the firm before it collapsed in 2008 via "project verde." Ten weeks later, after Slim didn't invest in the firm, it broke apart at the seams and declared bankruptcy.
After Lehman Brothers went belly-up, Bush spent almost half of his working hours with Barclays.
"I spent a lot of time, I probably spent about 40 percent of my time working for Barclays," Bush said in June. "I did a lot of their conferences where I spoke and I interacted with their clients."
Bush, a Republican, announced his candidacy for president in June after months of speculation that he would join the race.
He resigned from his position at Barclays late last year because of his presidential plans.
When Bush left the governor's mansion in Florida and resumed his life as a private citizen, at least six Wall Street firms offered Bush a job, reports the Journal. He landed the position at Lehman Brothers and made public appearances for the company, giving speeches and traveling to conferences in order to boost the firm's visibility.
He often traveled alone and without security, despite the fact that his brother, George W. Bush, was the sitting U.S. president.
Bush's work on Wall Street could be a good thing in the eyes of Republican voters, but his critics may not appreciate the fact that he spent seven years working for big-money investment firms — which have been
the target of Democrats' ire.
Late last year, meanwhile, Bush approached several
Wall Street firms to seek their backing of his presidential bid.
Bush spent months raising money through
his Super PAC before he joined the presidential race, taking in more than $100 million since January.
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