Ben Barnes, former Texas Lt. Gov. and now a successful business executive and lobbyist, has a lot to be grateful for. Once considered the golden boy of Texas politics in the 1960s and a Democrat rising star predicted to become America’s next president, Ben Barnes of Austin, Texas has no regrets about his departure from public office in 1973. A 13-year productive career has given him lessons to keep for a lifetime, particularly those taught to him by his mentor, President Lyndon B. Johnson.
A fellow Texan, President Johnson saw great potential in the young Ben Barnes and took him in as a political pupil. In his book “Barn Burning, Barn Building,” Ben Barnes of Austin, Texas recalls how Johnson was an exemplary bipartisan legislator and an expert in the legislative process.
As the Democratic Party’s power declined in Texas, Ben Barnes has been actively advocating reforms and calling for sincere bipartisanship, Johnson’s legacy.
Now a multimillionaire businessman and philanthropist, Ben Barnes of Austin, Texas relives the memory and continues the advocacy of his late mentor by supporting the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation as its Vice President, and by donating to the LBJ Library and School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. Barnes remains a top campaign contributor to the Democratic Party, serving as vice chairman of the 2004 John Kerry presidential campaign.