Editing Jonathan Bush

{{Short description|American banker (1931–2021)}}
{{About||one of his sons|Jonathan S. Bush|the Irish cricketer|Jonathan Bushe}}
{{other people|John Bush}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Jonathan Bush
| birth_name         = Jonathan James Bush
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1931|5|6}}
| birth_place        = [[Greenwich, Connecticut]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2021|5|5|1931|5|6}}
| death_place        = [[Jupiter, Florida]], U.S.
| occupation         = Banker
| alma mater         = [[Yale University]]
| party              = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse             = {{marriage|Josephine Colwell Bradley|1967}}
| children           = [[Jonathan S. Bush]]<br />[[Billy Bush]]
| parents            = [[Prescott Bush|Prescott Sheldon Bush]] <br /> Dorothy Walker Bush
| relations          = See [[Bush family]]
}}
'''Jonathan James Bush''' (May 6, 1931 – May 5, 2021) was an American banker. Bush was the fourth child and third son of U. S. Senator [[Prescott Bush]] and his wife Dorothy Bush. Through his brother, President [[George H. W. Bush]], he was an uncle of President [[George W. Bush]] and former Florida governor [[Jeb Bush]]. He died in Florida, hours before his 90th birthday.

==Early life==
Bush was born in [[Greenwich, Connecticut|Greenwich]], [[Connecticut]],<ref name="NEWYORKMAGAZINE10081990">[[Howard Kurtz|Kurtz, Howard]], {{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=h7VasQrBnm8C&dq=%22It%27s+Jonathan+Bush,+a+chatty,+modest+ex-actor+who%27s+now+playing+the+role+of+First+%22&pg=PA38| title = "The First Brother"| date = 8 October 1990}}, ''New York Magazine'', October 8, 1990.</ref> to [[Prescott Bush|Prescott Sheldon Bush]], a politician, and [[Dorothy Wear Walker Bush]] (July 1, 1901 – November 19, 1992). He graduated from [[The Hotchkiss School]] and [[Yale University]], where he was a member of [[Skull and Bones]].<ref name="robbins">{{cite book | author=Robbins, Alexandra | author-link=Alexandra Robbins | title=Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power | publisher=[[Little, Brown]] | location=Boston | year=2002 | isbn=0-316-72091-7 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/secretsoftombsku00robb }}</ref>{{rp|145, 179}} The fourth child in the family, he was the brother of [[Prescott Bush, Jr.]] (1922–2010), the 41st [[President of the United States]] [[George H. W. Bush]] (1924–2018), [[Nancy Walker Bush Ellis|Nancy Bush Ellis]] (1926–2021), and [[William H. T. Bush|William "Bucky" Bush]] (1938–2018). He was the uncle of the 43rd President [[George W. Bush]]. Like his brother George H. W. Bush, he was a member of [[Delta Kappa Epsilon]] fraternity at Yale.

Bush and his wife Josephine are the parents of entertainment reporter [[Billy Bush]] and health care executive [[Jonathan S. Bush]].<ref name=biography.com>{{cite web|url= http://www.biography.com/people/billy-bush-060116|title= Billy Bush: Television Personality (1971–)|publisher= [[Biography.com]] ([[FYI (TV network)|FYI]] / [[A&E Networks]])|access-date= May 22, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181231125920/https://www.biography.com/people/billy-bush-060116|archive-date= December 31, 2018|url-status= dead}}</ref>

==Career==
As of December 31, 2018, Jonathan Bush had retired from Fairfield, Bush & Co., an Investment Advisory Firm in [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]], [[Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.fairfieldbush.com| title = Wealth Management, New Haven, CT}}</ref>

Jonathan Bush founded J. Bush & Co., which provided discreet banking services for the [[Washington, D.C.]], embassies of foreign governments for many years. In 1997, [[Riggs Bank]] bought J. Bush & Co. and made Bush [[CEO]] & President of Riggs Investment, a firm based in New Haven, Connecticut.

In the early 1980s, Jonathan Bush helped organize investors for [[George W. Bush]]'s first oil venture, [[Arbusto Energy]], later called Bush Explorations.

During the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 presidential campaign]], Bush was a major contributor and fundraiser to his nephew's election and was named a "[[Bush Pioneer]]" for raising more than $100,000 for the campaign.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=78928 |title=Page at americanprogress.org |access-date=2005-01-05 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613185518/http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=78928 |archive-date=June 13, 2006 }}</ref>

Bush died on May 5, 2021, the day before his 90th birthday.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jonathan-bush-brother-george-hw-bush-dead| title = Jonathan Bush, brother of President George H.W. Bush, dead at 89| website = [[Fox News]]| date = 6 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Jonathan Bush, Last of a Political Generation, Dies at 89|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/us/jonathan-bush-dead.html|work=The New York Times|author=The Associated Press|date=May 6, 2021|accessdate=May 6, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/jonathan-bush-brother-president-george-hw-bush-dies-77538494| title = Jonathan Bush, brother of President George H.W. Bush, dies - ABC News| website = [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}} </ref><ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/us/jonathan-bush-dead.html| title = Jonathan Bush, Last of a Political Generation, Dies at 89 - The New York Times| work = The New York Times| date = 6 May 2021}}</ref> At the time of his death, he was the last surviving child of [[Prescott Bush]] and Dorothy Walker Bush.

==Controversy==
On May 15, 2004, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' published an article that said, "A political Web site written by a [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] operative drew attention yesterday to the fact that President Bush's uncle, Jonathan J. Bush, is a top executive at Riggs Bank, which this week agreed to pay a record $25 million in civil fines for violations of law intended to thwart [[money laundering]]."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28396-2004May14.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Web Site Cites Bush-Riggs Link |date=May 15, 2004 |access-date=May 7, 2010}}</ref>

The bank accounts under investigation may have been [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]], though the article did not say so. It did, however, go on to say: "a source familiar with the multiple federal investigations of the bank's Saudi accounts and other embassy accounts say Jonathan Bush's investment advice unit has 'no relationship whatsoever' with any of the Riggs's Saudi accounts." Moreover, the newspaper quoted a spokesman for the [[Office of the Comptroller of the Currency]] as saying "any suggestion of political influence in the Riggs situation is 'preposterous.'"

In 1991, Bush was fined $30,000 in [[Massachusetts]] and several thousand dollars in [[Connecticut]] for violating registration laws governing [[securities]] sales. He was barred from securities brokerage with the general public in Massachusetts for one year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mass. Regulators Fine Stockbrokerage Owned by President Bush's Brother |publisher=Associated Press |date=July 26, 1991}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Bush family}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Jonathan}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:American bankers]]
[[Category:American political fundraisers]]
[[Category:Bush family]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Maine]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Connecticut Republicans]]
[[Category:Maine Republicans]]
[[Category:Hotchkiss School alumni]]
[[Category:Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:People from North Haven, Maine]]
[[Category:Members of Skull and Bones]]