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Ford Foundation Links Parents of Obama and Treasury Secretary Nominee

By  Ian Wilhelm
December 3, 2008

In an unusual twist of fate, the parents of Barack Obama and his pick for secretary of Treasury, Timothy Geithner, share a nonprofit connection: they worked at the Ford Foundation at the same time.

Indeed, Mr. Geithner’s father was head of the philanthropy’s Asia grant making for a period in the early 1980s and oversaw the work of Mr. Obama’s mother, who developed the organization’s microfinance programs in Indonesia.

According to the foundation, they met at least once in Jakarta.

No word on whether the two parents speculated on the future careers of their sons.

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In an unusual twist of fate, the parents of Barack Obama and his pick for secretary of Treasury, Timothy Geithner, share a nonprofit connection: they worked at the Ford Foundation at the same time.

Indeed, Mr. Geithner’s father was head of the philanthropy’s Asia grant making for a period in the early 1980s and oversaw the work of Mr. Obama’s mother, who developed the organization’s microfinance programs in Indonesia.

According to the foundation, they met at least once in Jakarta.

No word on whether the two parents speculated on the future careers of their sons.

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We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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