Ben Barnes
Encyclopedia
Benny Frank Barnes, known as Ben Barnes (born April 17, 1938), is an American real estate
magnate
, politician
and lobbyist
, who was once the Speaker
of the Texas House of Representatives
and the 36th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
from January 21, 1969 to January 16, 1973 for two two-year terms. He was a vice-chair http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/topfundraisers.pdf and top fund-raiser of the John Kerry
campaign, being one of only eight persons who raised over $500,000 for Kerry http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/18/politics/main624711.shtml.
in Eastland County
, Texas, on April 17, 1938, and named "Benny Frank Barnes". His parents, B.F. Barnes and Ina B. Carrigan, had another son twenty-one months later, Rick Barnes. The family moved to Comanche County
, where Barnes graduated in 1956 from De Leon High School in De Leon
, Texas. After high school he enrolled for one semester at Texas Christian University
in Fort Worth
, followed by a semester at Tarleton College
in Stephenville
, Texas. That spring he married his high school sweetheart, Martha Morgan, and at age twenty began studying at the University of Texas at Austin
.
Barnes and his third wife, Melanie, reside in Austin
with their two daughters Elena and Blaire, who were adopted from Romania
and Russia
, respectively. Barnes has two children from his first marriage, Greg and Amy. He has four grandchildren: Ashley Mathis, Ben Barnes, II, Kelly Barnes, and Katherine Mathis.
, by 1963, Barnes was chairman of the powerful Rules Committee. The U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce recognized Barnes as one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men in America" in 1965.
Barnes served as state Speaker of the House in Texas from 1965-1969. The position opened when Governor John B. Connally, Jr., named Speaker Byron M. Tunnell
to succeed the retiring Ernest O. Thompson
on the Texas Railroad Commission. Barnes was chosen by House members to succeed Tunnell and hence became the youngest Speaker in Texas history. He was also U.S. representative to the NATO Conference in 1967, and United Nations
Representative to Geneva
, Switzerland
, in 1968. Barnes served as lieutenant governor from 1969–1973, often called the most powerful position in the Texas state government because the lieutenant governor can block a governor's agenda from being considered by the Texas State Senate.
While Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and later Lieutenant Governor, Barnes alleged he was instrumental in enabling numerous sons of both Democratic and Republican politicians to avoid serving in the Vietnam War
, one of them being George W. Bush
. Barnes said that he did this on his own initiative, as a political favor without being requested.
, though he stated he had no knowledge of the involvement of several state senators and no charges were filed against him. The scandal contributed to an unsuccessful run for governor and Barnes's exit from public office.
empire which included the development of such projects as Southwest Parkway and Barton Creek Country Club in Austin
. Like his former mentor John Connally, he entered bankruptcy
following the collapse of the real estate bubble in the mid-1980s.
, a company that operated lotteries
in 37 states including Texas. The Texas lottery was losing money, in part because of a lucrative deal in which Barnes received 3.5 cents for every ticket sold – more than $3 million per year.
Since leaving elective office, Barnes has become a successful business executive and civic leader. He is the founder of the Ben Barnes Group, a business consulting and lobbying firm. He has served as a consultant, director or chairman of more than two dozen companies, including SBC Communications, American Airlines
, Dallas Bank and Trust, Grumman Systems Support Corporation, Laredo National Bank and the Barnes/Connally Partnership.
The Ben Barnes Group has made millions of dollars by acting as the go-between, bringing special interest groups and companies together with highly-placed Democratic
officeholders. The Center for Responsive Politics
has listed Barnes as the third largest all-around Democratic donor in America from 1999 to 2004. Among his partners in the Barnes Group is the former State Senator Kent Caperton
, who represented Texas Senate District 5
from 1981 to 1991.
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and lobbyist
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
, who was once the Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
and the 36th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
from January 21, 1969 to January 16, 1973 for two two-year terms. He was a vice-chair http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/topfundraisers.pdf and top fund-raiser of the John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
campaign, being one of only eight persons who raised over $500,000 for Kerry http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/18/politics/main624711.shtml.
Personal life
Barnes was born in GormanGorman, Texas
Gorman is a city in Eastland County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,236 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Gorman is located at ....
in Eastland County
Eastland County, Texas
*Carbon*Cisco*Desdemona, a ghost town*Eastland*Gorman*Mangum*Olden*Ranger*Rising Star*Romney-See also:*National Register of Historic Places listings in Eastland County, Texas*Santa Claus Bank Robbery-External links:** at the University of Texas*...
, Texas, on April 17, 1938, and named "Benny Frank Barnes". His parents, B.F. Barnes and Ina B. Carrigan, had another son twenty-one months later, Rick Barnes. The family moved to Comanche County
Comanche County, Texas
Comanche County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. In 2000, its population was 14,026. Comanche was founded in 1856. Comanche is named for the Comanche Native American tribe...
, where Barnes graduated in 1956 from De Leon High School in De Leon
De Leon, Texas
De Leon is a city located in Comanche County in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,433 at the time of the 2000 census.The town was laid out in April 1881 by surveying crews of the Texas Central Railway as it constructed a line from Ross, just north of Waco, to an undecided destination in...
, Texas. After high school he enrolled for one semester at Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, followed by a semester at Tarleton College
Tarleton State University
Tarleton State University is a public, coeducational, state university located in Stephenville, Texas. It is the largest non-land-grant university primarily devoted to agriculture in the United States....
in Stephenville
Stephenville, Texas
Stephenville is a city in and the county seat of Erath County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,921 at the 2000 census. Founded in 1856, it is home to Tarleton State University. Stephenville is among several communities that calls itself the "Cowboy Capital of the...
, Texas. That spring he married his high school sweetheart, Martha Morgan, and at age twenty began studying at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
.
Barnes and his third wife, Melanie, reside in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
with their two daughters Elena and Blaire, who were adopted from Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, respectively. Barnes has two children from his first marriage, Greg and Amy. He has four grandchildren: Ashley Mathis, Ben Barnes, II, Kelly Barnes, and Katherine Mathis.
Political career
While a student at The University of Texas, Barnes worked at the Texas State Health Department. After discovering some financial irregularities that led to the indictment of the state health commissioner, Barnes became interested in politics. He went back to his home area of the state and ran for state representative, when he was barely 21 years old and pulled off an upset victory. Advancing quickly through the Texas legislatureTexas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
, by 1963, Barnes was chairman of the powerful Rules Committee. The U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce recognized Barnes as one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men in America" in 1965.
Barnes served as state Speaker of the House in Texas from 1965-1969. The position opened when Governor John B. Connally, Jr., named Speaker Byron M. Tunnell
Byron M. Tunnell
Byron Milton Tunnell was a state representative from 1957–1965, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 1963 to 1965, and a member of the elected Texas Railroad Commission from 1965-1973....
to succeed the retiring Ernest O. Thompson
Ernest O. Thompson
Ernest Othmer Thompson was a general in the United States Army during World War I, a mayor of Amarillo, Texas, an attorney, a businessman , and a 32-year member of the Texas Railroad Commission. He was recognized as a world authority on petroleum and natural gas production and conservation...
on the Texas Railroad Commission. Barnes was chosen by House members to succeed Tunnell and hence became the youngest Speaker in Texas history. He was also U.S. representative to the NATO Conference in 1967, and United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Representative to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, in 1968. Barnes served as lieutenant governor from 1969–1973, often called the most powerful position in the Texas state government because the lieutenant governor can block a governor's agenda from being considered by the Texas State Senate.
While Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and later Lieutenant Governor, Barnes alleged he was instrumental in enabling numerous sons of both Democratic and Republican politicians to avoid serving in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, one of them being George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. Barnes said that he did this on his own initiative, as a political favor without being requested.
Sharpstown scandal
In 1971, Barnes was caught up along with the Democratic Party in Texas in the political fallout of the Sharpstown scandalSharpstown scandal
The Sharpstown scandal was a stock fraud scandal in the state of Texas in 1971 and 1972 involving the highest levels of the state government. The name came from the involvement of the Sharpstown area of Houston.-Background:...
, though he stated he had no knowledge of the involvement of several state senators and no charges were filed against him. The scandal contributed to an unsuccessful run for governor and Barnes's exit from public office.
Real estate empire
During the seventies and eighties Barnes developed a multi-million dollar real estateReal estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
empire which included the development of such projects as Southwest Parkway and Barton Creek Country Club in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Like his former mentor John Connally, he entered bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
following the collapse of the real estate bubble in the mid-1980s.
Lobbying career
By the late 1990s, Barnes had become a millionaire lobbyist working for GTECH CorporationGTECH Corporation
GTECH Corporation, a company based in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Lottomatica, S.p.A., on August 29, 2006.-Holdings:...
, a company that operated lotteries
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
in 37 states including Texas. The Texas lottery was losing money, in part because of a lucrative deal in which Barnes received 3.5 cents for every ticket sold – more than $3 million per year.
Since leaving elective office, Barnes has become a successful business executive and civic leader. He is the founder of the Ben Barnes Group, a business consulting and lobbying firm. He has served as a consultant, director or chairman of more than two dozen companies, including SBC Communications, American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, Dallas Bank and Trust, Grumman Systems Support Corporation, Laredo National Bank and the Barnes/Connally Partnership.
The Ben Barnes Group has made millions of dollars by acting as the go-between, bringing special interest groups and companies together with highly-placed Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
officeholders. The Center for Responsive Politics
Center for Responsive Politics
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
has listed Barnes as the third largest all-around Democratic donor in America from 1999 to 2004. Among his partners in the Barnes Group is the former State Senator Kent Caperton
Kent Caperton
Kent Allen Caperton is an attorney and political consultant in Austin, Texas, who served from 1981 to 1991 as a Democratic member of the Texas State Senate from District 5, encompassing twenty-one counties from The Woodlands, to Crockett, and Caperton's then city of residence, Bryan, Texas.-Early...
, who represented Texas Senate District 5
Texas Senate, District 5
District 5 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that serves Brazos, Burleson, Freestone, Grimes, Houston, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Madison, Milam, Robertson, Trinity, Walker and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas...
from 1981 to 1991.
Awards and volunteering
In 1995, The University of Texas named him a Distinguished Alumnus. In addition to his corporate work, he also serves on the board of several non-profit organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club, the national group Patient Privacy Rights, and is vice-president of the LBJ Foundation.Writing
Barnes is the author of the book Barn Burning Barn Building: Tales of a Political Life, From LBJ to George W. Bush and Beyond (ISBN 1-931721-71-8), which was first published in 2006.External links
- Biography from Texas Monthly TalksTexas Monthly TalksTexas Monthly Talks was a thirty-minute interview show on public television networks across the state of Texas hosted by Evan Smith, then Editor Emeritus of Texas Monthly magazine. Produced by Dateline NBC veteran Lynn Boswell, the show addressed contemporary issues in Texas politics, business and...
hosted at the KLRUKLRUKLRU is the local Public Broadcasting Service member public television station in Austin, Texas, in the United States of America.-History:...
website.