Biography of George W. Bush – The 43rd U.S. President, His Net Worth, Wife and Kids

Quick Facts

On January 20, 2001, George W. Bush became the most powerful man in the world after he was sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States. Interestingly enough, that was exactly 12 years after his father was sworn in for the same office in 1989. The younger Bush would go on to see the country through one of its most trying times, the September 11 terrorist attacks. This would chart the course for his two terms in office with fighting terrorism as one of his main legacies.

Biography of George W. Bush

The former American president was born and named George Walker Bush on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut as the first child of a Yale University student, George Herbert Walker Bush and his young wife, Barbara Pierce. Of mainly English and German roots, George was raised alongside for siblings: Jeb Bush, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. He lost his brother, Robin Bush who died at the age of 3.

He was educated at The Kinkaid School which was a prep school before moving to Phillips Academy. From here, Bush went to Yale University. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree, George was off to Harvard Business School from where he got an MBA.

While he was in high school, George W. Bush played baseball and when he moved to college, he played Rugby. He was equally at this time a member of the Skull and Bones society.

He got commissioned into the Texas Air National Guard in 1968 and kept serving the Air Force Reserve until 1974 when he was discharged honorably. After this, Bush decided to go into business by establishing an oil exploration company, Arbusto Energy in 1977.

Raised in a political family, George W. Bush also decided to join politics full-time by running for the House of Representatives for West Texas’ 19th District, but he lost the 1978 election. After his father who was the vice president of the US from 1981 to 1989 served his tenure as president from 1989 to 1993, the younger George Bush decided to run for the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election while his younger brother, took a shot at becoming the governor of Florida.

Although George easily won, Jeb Bush lost the election before going on to win in 1999. George remained governor from 1995 until 2000 when he defeated the incumbent vice president of the United States Al Gore to become the president of the country.

The 43rd U.S. President

After he was sworn in, George W. Bush was interested in pursuing domestic policies but in September 2001 after the United States was attacked by terrorists, he completely altered his agenda to fighting and defeating terrorism. Among the countries he concentrated on were Iraq and Afghanistan, both of which he invaded. Many years after he left office, the war in those countries would continue with many blaming him for being the one responsible for the destabilization of the Middle East.

George W. Bush defeated of the Democratic Party to win the United States presidential election of 2004. He remained in power until 2008 when succeeded him. Since his retirement, Bush has been into a lot of things including humanitarian works, writing, and delivering speeches.

Wife and Kids

Looking at George and Laura Bush, one could easily bet that the two have been together for all their lives. However, Laura was not the first woman in the life of the man who has been described as a party boy in his younger days.

The first woman that was supposed to be his wife is Cathryn Lee Wolfman whom he met in the 1960s when they were both juniors at Yale. Wolfman who was not interested in politics was later engaged by Bush in 1967, but the two would later walk their separate ways with some sources claiming it was because she had Jewish roots.

Exactly 10 years after his first engagement, George Bush was introduced to a beautiful woman, Laura Welch who would become his wife. Three months after they began dating, the two got engaged and soon afterward, they got married. The union was blessed with a set of twins, Barbara and Jenna who were born in 1981. The two remain the only kids of George and Laura Bush.

Net Worth

Apart from being a politician, George Bush is also a businessman. In fact, he was into business even before joining politics. As pointed above, he once owned an oil exploration company before later investing in the baseball franchise, the Texas Rangers.

Together with his wife, George W. Bush has a net worth that is estimated at $35 million. The former Texas governor still makes money from the books he has written as well as the speeches he delivers. More so, he also has various properties including a ranch.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.