Sir Allen Stanford

Memphis, Tenn. – June 26, 2008 –ALSAC, the fundraising organization of St. Jude Children Research Hospital^®, presented Stanford Financial Group and its Chairman, Sir Allen Stanford, with awards on June 20 during a dinner attended by the ALSAC/St. Jude Boards of Directors and Governors and ALSAC staff members from around the country. Sir Allen Stanford received the organization’s highest honor, the Michael F. Tamer award, and Stanford Financial Group received the award for Corporate Sponsor of the Year.

The individual award presented to Sir Allen Stanford was created in honor of Michael F. Tamer, who served as the first chief executive officer of ALSAC and helped St. Jude founder Danny Thomas raise the necessary funds to build the hospital and maintain it in its early years. Tamer is credited with helping Thomas realize his dream of establishing a world renowned research and treatment center for children stricken with cancer and other deadly diseases.

“Each year, the Michael F. Tamer award is given to an individual who has shown a lasting and abiding commitment to St. Jude. Mr. Stanford deserves this prestigious honor because of his belief that there is always one more thing he can do for the children of St. Jude,” said John P. Moses, chief executive officer of ALSAC. “His company has embraced our mission of saving the lives of some of the world’s sickest children, and he has worked tirelessly to spread the message of our groundbreaking research and care. I am grateful for Mr. Stanford’s leadership and compassion. We are honored to call Stanford Financial Group a friend of St. Jude.”

“I am both honored and humbled to receive the Michael F. Tamer Award,” said Sir Allen Stanford. “At Stanford, we’re committed to strengthening the communities across the globe in which we do business and we believe that nothing strengthens a community more than healthy, happy children. That’s why we named St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Stanford’s charity of choice two years ago. The incredible miracles St. Jude performs every day – for the children

Stanford receives two awards

and for their families – regardless of their ability to pay, is what Danny Thomas’ dream was about; and I am committed to doing all I can to keep his dream alive. I’ve seen the results that St. Jude achieves. I’ve seen the smiles on these children’s faces, and it’s for these reasons that I feel so very blessed to receive this award.”

Under the leadership of Sir Allen Stanford, the partnership between St. Jude and Stanford began in 2005, when Stanford began raising funds for the hospital through the sponsorship of dinners and galas in multiple cities across the country. Since that time, Stanford Financial Group has become one of St. Jude’s largest corporate partners, helping to raise more than $15 million for the hospital.

In 2006, Stanford committed to donate $6 million for the St. Jude International Outreach Program. The funds help St. Jude share knowledge, technology and organizational skills with partner sites in nine countries in Central, South and Latin America.

In 2007, Stanford assumed title sponsorship of the Memphis PGA TOUR event, previously known as the FedEx St. Jude Classic, now named the Stanford St. Jude Championship. That same year, Stanford created the Eagles for St. Jude program, through which Stanford made a $1,000 donation to St. Jude for every eagle made on the PGA TOUR. As a result of these golf tournament-related efforts, the hospital received a record-breaking donation of $1.76 million in the first year of Stanford’s sponsorship.

In 2008, Stanford expanded the Eagles for St. Jude program by committing to donate $1,000 for every eagle made on both the PGA and LPGA Tours.

About St. Jude

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fund-raising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.

Bridgetown, Barbados (November 21, 2007) – Sir Allen Stanford, Chairman and CEO of the Stanford Financial Group of companies (Stanford), delivered a powerful speech offering his recommendations on creating investment momentum in the Caribbean at the inaugural Caribbean International Leadership Summit: Journeying Towards Global Competitiveness.

The summit, which took place November 12-13 at the Hilton Barbados, brought together regional and international speakers and was comprised mainly of CEOs, boards of directors, executive management from private- and public-sector organizations, business owners, strategists, pioneers and students of leadership from throughout the Caribbean and beyond.

Sir Allen Stanford’s message focused on the opportunities for investing in the Caribbean and emphasized the role of business leaders and entrepreneurs in placing the Caribbean on the road to first world status. Sir Allen stressed his commitment to the Caribbean as a resident, citizen, and investor in the region for the past 24 years. The Stanford Financial Group of companies has invested in excess of US $1.5 billion in the Caribbean during this time and employs over 3,000 CARICOM nationals.

He also highlighted the impediments to realizing global competitiveness and illustrated what Stanford Financial Group, and himself as Chairman and CEO, are doing to address these issues. Specifically, Sir Allen noted that the Caribbean region offers unique and world-class opportunities for investors who understand the challenges of dealing with micro-states and their efforts to further their economic and social development. He noted that the region must create a long-term investment strategy in order to maintain the competitive edge needed in today’s world and must also reinvest in its people. Paramount to this, he said, was ending the exodus of young bright minds from the Caribbean to other parts of the developed world by providing first-world wage opportunities.

He voiced his support for governments in the region pursuing aggressive tax policies where those who invest their profits back into the Caribbean receive tax breaks and other investment incentives.

He noted that for far too long the Caribbean has attracted the wrong type of investors, – “individuals and corporations who come to our debt ridden, small island nations desperate for foreign investment and in simple terms, rob them.” “The reality,” he said, “ is that hardly any investor is properly vetted prior to negotiations with a government, and once a deal is made there are seldom any provisions put in place to ensure performance and adherence to commitments made by the investor during the negotiations.

Sir Allen said he was convinced that the Caribbean region can become a world leader, which is why he established Stanford Caribbean Investments, a US $2 billion fund dedicated solely to the Caribbean. The investor’s role is to lead by example and invest in the future in order to stimulate and grow the economy of the Caribbean region in an unprecedented fashion through the construction of vital infrastructure projects and world-class tourism developments.

Sir Allen stressed that future investment in the Caribbean cannot continue to be primarily in the tourism sector. “I believe we need to fully utilize and market the legal structure, tax and investment incentives, low labor costs, geographic location, global communications, air travel infrastructure, and the fact that in this volatile world in which we live, the Caribbean is still one of the few places in the world where it is relatively safe to live, work and travel to,” he said.

He also identified some of the difficulties in investing in the Caribbean and illustrated the many hurdles that must be removed if the Caribbean as a whole is to be a serious global competitor. Such difficulties and hurdles include inconsistent regulations from island to island, uneven enforcement of existing regulations, rampant protectionism, stifling value-added taxes, different work rules and labor policies that are unrealistic and politically driven.

Using an analogy from cricket, Sir Allen said that he supports each island competing against each other so that they can become better at what they do, However, the islands must come together to face external forces when needed just as in cricket where the islands compete against each other regionally but on the international stage come together as West Indies cricket.

Remaining on a cricketing theme, Sir Allen spoke about the 2008 Stanford 20/20 Cricket tournament and his vision for West Indies cricket. He emphasized his belief that West Indies cricket can regain its glory days of the past and stressed the importance of creating a professional cricket league. ”For far too long West Indies cricketers have been undervalued and underpaid. In order to keep these athletes in the Caribbean, we need a professional cricket team on each island where the players earn enough to support their families and can devote 100% of their time to becoming the best athletes in the world.” It is to this end that Sir Allen organized and funded the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament, now in its second year.

Sir Allen closed his speech by speaking candidly about the realities of global climate change and its potential environmental impact on the Caribbean. He observed that the realities of climate change could have “frightening” implications for the Caribbean as sea levels rise, coral reefs die and temperatures change. It was for these reasons that one year ago, Sir Allen commissioned the University of Miami Rosentiel School of Marine Science and Texas A& M University School of GeoScience to conduct research into global climate change and its impact in the Caribbean.

The inaugural Caribbean International Leadership Summit was hosted by the University of West Indies (UWI) and its three business schools: Cave Hill School of Business, Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business and the Mona School of Business.

In addition to Sir Allen Stanford, other speakers included Arthur Lok Jack, founder benefactor of the UWI Graduate School of Business in Trinidad; Margaret Young, Managing Partner and CEO of the Mill Square Group and a graduate of Harvard Business School; and former GE Chairman and CEO Jack Welch.

Sir Allen Stanford moved to St. Croix in 2006 and established the global oversight office and Caribbean regional headquarters for the Stanford Financial Group of companies there. Stanford Financial Group is a global network of financial services companies with $43 billion in assets under management or advisement. The company is in the process of building a 90,000-square-foot office and hangar in St. Croix that, once completed, will employ about 100 local people, Sir Allen said.

Stanford Financial Group Chairman and CEO Sir Allen Stanford has been selected for this year’s The Forbes 400, an elite listing of America’s 400 wealthiest individuals. With a net worth of at least $2.0 billion, Sir Allen is ranked #239.

Of Sir Allen, Forbes reports: Number 239: R. Allen Stanford
Net Worth: $2.0 billion
Source: Finance, Inherited and Growing
Age: 57
Hometown: St. Croix, VI, United States
Marital Status: Separated, 6 Children
Education: Baylor University

“Distant relative of Stanford University’s founder grew up in Texas. Made first fortune early 1980s building houses in Houston. Expanded insurance and real estate firm grandfather started in the Depression into global financial services provider. Today manages $43 billion. Investing $100 million in Caribbean cricket league. Knighted by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda last November.”The 2007 list is the 25th anniversary edition of The Forbes 400, and this year, for the first time, everyone in The Forbes 400 has at least $1 billion. According to the magazine, “the price of admission to The Forbes 400 this year is $1.3 billion, up $300 million from last year.”According to Forbes, the magazine’s net-worth estimates are deliberately conservative and should be considered “at least” figures. In the laborious process, everything is valued; including stakes in publicly traded and privately held companies, real estate holdings and investments in art, yachts and mansions. Forbes’ estimates are a snapshot of wealth as of August 31, 2007.A complete listing of The Forbes 400 can be found at www.forbes.com