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Bush: Read my stock tips
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March 19, 1999: 8:59 a.m. ET
Former president joins telecom elite as speech reaps $14M bonanza
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Former U.S. President George Bush has made one of the most lucrative speeches in history. Bush was able to net a fortune after he agreed to take shares in the fast-growing telecom firm Global Crossing in lieu of his $80,000 fee, according to a newspaper report Friday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Global Crossing (GBLX) Chairman Lodwrick Cook invited Bush to make a presentation in Japan last year, before the company began trading on Nasdaq. Bush even cut 20 percent from his normal fee in testimony to his friendship with Cook.
Bush made the speech and pocketed the low-priced shares ahead of Global Crossing's float last August.
The stock since has soared from its launch price of 9.5 to a high of 60. Following a two-for-one stock split, the shares closed at 48 Thursday.
Bermuda-based Global Crossing, which is building a fiber-optic network that will circle the globe, will see its market capitalization climb to $30 billion if this week's acquisition of Rochester, N.Y.-based Frontier Corp. (FRO), a local and long-distance operator, goes through.
Bush's opportunism makes him leader of the global league of political speechmakers. Margaret Thatcher, the former U.K. prime minister, can claim only $150,000 per speech. 
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