# How did Lyndon Johnson get rich? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-lyndon-johnson-get-rich/229611 "2004-02-17T04:31:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-lyndon-johnson-get-rich/229611/21 "2004-04-05T18:52:31Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > OK, so LBJ made his money by monopolizing the Texas radio market and by arranging for fat government contracts to be awarded to companies he was affiliated with. > > It’s generally accepted that the Kennedys made their money by bootlegging during Prohibition. > > What about other first families? Where did the Bush family’s money come from? Are you trying for some sort of moral equivalence? Even if the Kennedy family did make its money during Prohibition, there’s no moral equivalence between JFK and LBJ. For one, JFK was simply living off family money that may have been gained illegally, but not by him. JFK didn’t abuse his government position to make himself rich, like LBJ did. In fact, I can’t really think of any President who did this. Bush’s family has long been rich, but Bush 41 made a lot of money in the oil fields of Texas before he got into politics. He didn’t use his government positions to enrich himself. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-lyndon-johnson-get-rich/229611/22 "2004-04-05T19:40:50Z")
[hijack] I’m having a hard time believing LBJ and Jackson were wealthier than the Roosevelts. Do we think this list is accurate? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-lyndon-johnson-get-rich/229611/23 "2004-04-05T19:54:46Z")
> [@](#): > > It is difficult to compare personal wealth across historical periods, but below is our best estimate of the relative net worths of the richest five U.S. presidents. The rankings are based on our own calculations and extensive interviews with presidential historians. If the authors were more straightforward in their writing, they’d have said “It is almost meaningless to compare personal wealth…” and, “…Our best guess…” Even so, they acknowledge that it’s hardly an authoritative ranking. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-lyndon-johnson-get-rich/229611/24 "2004-04-05T23:09:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Are you trying for some sort of moral equivalence? Not really. I’m mostly just curious as to how our country’s leads came into their positions of power. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-lyndon-johnson-get-rich/229611/25 "2004-04-05T23:55:12Z")
Maybe someone can prove or disprove this. I heard that Johnson (again using Lady bird as a front). Made a killing off of Bell helicopter. This was told to me as an explaination as to why the Hughes OH-6 was replaced by the Bell OH-58. The OH-6 was considered to be the superior aircraft in performance and survivability by the pilots. This theory was told to me by a Nam OH-6 pilot and he gave no proof. However it is true that the three most widely used Army aircraft by the end of the war were all made by Bell, the UH-1 Huey, the AH-1 Cobra and the OH-58 Kiowa. At this point I have not formed an opinion and I hope someone has some info. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-lyndon-johnson-get-rich/229611.md?page=1)