Bush began his industry career in 1977, when he established Arbusto Energy, an oil and gas exploration company he financed with his education trust fund surplus and money from other investors, including Dorothy Bush, Lewis Lehrman, William Henry Draper III, Bill Gammell, and James R. Bath, the last of whom represented Salem bin Laden, a half-brother and cousin of Osama bin Laden.
In 1984, Bush sold the company, heavily damaged due to the 1979 energy crisis, to Spectrum 7, another Texas gas exploration firm.
After working on his father's successful 1988 presidential campaign, Bush learned from fellow Yale alumnus William DeWitt, Jr., that family friend Eddie Chiles wanted to sell the Texas Rangers baseball franchise along with the new sports stadium; built on land acquired under eminent domain law and built under funding financed through taxpayers' funds backed by a bond issued for its debt.
[5] Critics allege that this decision was strongly influenced by the makeup of the SEC at the time, which heavily favored Bush.
In a last-ditch attempt to save the company, Harken was advised by the endowment fund of Harvard University to spin off two of its lower-performing divisions.
[7] As managing general partner of the Rangers, Bush assisted the team's media relations and the construction of a new stadium.
Hance, however, also held many conservative views, opposing gun control and strict regulation; he successfully portrayed Bush as out of touch with rural Texans.