Lobbying Career
By the late 1990s, Barnes had become a millionaire lobbyist working for GTECH Corporation, 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.
Read more about this topic: Ben Barnes (politician)
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