James R. Bath

James Reynolds Bath (1937 - ) is a former director of Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), and also former part owner of Arbusto Energy with George W. Bush, with whom Bath served as a member of the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. Like Bush, Bath was suspended from flying status in 1972 for failing to accomplish his annual medical examination.

Bath got his start in real estate in 1973 by forming a partnership with Lloyd Bentsen's son, Lan, in Bath Bentsen Interests.

In 1978, Bath became a Director of the Main Bank, based in Houston, Texas. His fellow investors were John Connally; Saudi financier Ghaith Pharaon; and Mahfouz. Also at this time, he founded JB&A Aviation, a corporate aviation brokerage firm, along with fellow businessmen Johnson Taylor and Jerry Smith.

In 1980, Bath was named company president of Cotopax Investments, registered in the Cayman Islands. The name was changed to Skyway Aircraft Leasing Ltd. The company board then resigned en masse, leaving Bath as a sole director. The company acted as a supplier of large passenger and air cargo jets. At one point, it leased a $10 million Gulfstream II jet to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation, which was controlled by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late first president of the United Arab Emirates.

Bath founded Southwest Airport Services to manage the Houston Gulf Airport, and to provide military fueling services at Ellington Field.

Bath's discharge from the National Guard and his relationships to the bin Laden family, the Bush family, and Arbusto were among the issues explored in Michael Moore's 2004 documentary film "Fahrenheit 9/11", as well as his book "Dude, Where's My Country?", released the same year.

References

External links

* [http://www.modernhistoryproject.org/mhp/EntityDisplay.php?Entity=BathJR James R. Bath entry on the Modern History Project]