Leavitt sells his interest in Leavitt Group

Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, now the head of the huge federal Health and Human Services Department in President Bush's administration, has sold out his interests in several family corporations as required by federal ethics standards.

Because HHS oversees insurance and animal health-related industries, Leavitt had to sell his interests in two family corporations — the Leavitt Group, the 27th-largest insurance brokerage operation in the country, and cattle ranching operations.

Dane Leavitt, Leavitt's younger brother and CEO of The Leavitt Group, said the former governor still owns between one-sixth and one-seventh of the family's real estate investments, as held by Leavitt Land and Investments.

That includes the family's Loa, Wayne County, ranch — the land itself, said Dane Leavitt. But Mike Leavitt is no longer an owner in various cattle operations. As governor, he often vacationed at and worked on the ranch.

His worth in the The Leavitt Group, which has part ownership in 90 insurance agencies in 13 states, and the cattle operations has been valued at more than $5 million.

Calls to Leavitt's office in Washington, D.C., were not returned.

Dane Leavitt said the family corporations are privately held by the six Leavitt brothers and their father, former state Sen. Dixie Leavitt, who started the insurance operations from the basement of the family's Cedar City home.

The Leavitt Group expanded greatly while Mike Leavitt ran the operations in the 1980s before he was first elected governor in 1992.

The former governor has not held a management position in the family firms since, resigning his governorship in November 2003 to become head of the Environmental Protection Agency, moving up to HHS after Bush's re-election this past fall.

Dane Leavitt said no outside partner bought out Mike Leavitt's interest in the family firms, and the firms remain held by the other family members.

"We divested Mike with careful coordination with the federal ethics office," said Dane Leavitt. "It was done in a way not to harm our position as a company; we will to continue to grow. We did not incur any debt as a company, and there are no partners outside of the family."

Whether Mike Leavitt will buy back into the firm after he leaves public service is yet to be determined, said Dane Leavitt. "Our hope is we continue to grow and he could buy back in. What his plans are we don't know. We would welcome him back; we have great affection for our brother."

Historically, former secretaries of HHS have gone on to head huge Fortune 500 companies, often related to health care, after leaving public office.

---

E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com; spang@desnews.com