Trade-Off for Speech Fee Pays Off for Bush

Former President Bush made a smart move by accepting stock in a start-up company instead of his usual speaking fee when he addressed an audience in Tokyo last year. Bush agreed to take shares in Global Crossing Ltd. in lieu of an $80,000 fee for speaking to a group assembled by the telecommunications business, the Wall Street Journal in New York reported. The stock is now worth about $14.4 million. Bush normally gets $100,000 for an overseas speech, but he gave a 20% discount to Global Crossing, whose co-chairman was an old friend. Global Crossing went public in August.