Younger brother of former US president Jimmy Carter. A source of embarrassment during the Carter administration, losing a run for mayor of Plains, Georgia in ’76, launching the ill-fated Billy Beer brand in ’77 and culminating in Billygate, after a visit to Libya in ’78 unravalled into an influence-peddling scandal, complete with Senate Hearings and press conferences.
After the collapse of the Billy Beer venture, he had to sell his home to settle a back taxes with the IRS. An acknowledged alcoholic, he got sober in the early 1988 and began concentrating his efforts on trailer park homes before succumbing to pancreatic cancer later that year. His son, William “Buddy” Carter has written his biography entitled Billy Carter: A Journey Through the Shadows
