Talk Is Not Cheap
Former President Cleans Up On Speaking Circuit
Talk is not cheap…when your name is Bill Clinton
Some people will pay big bucks to hear former President Bill Clinton speak. In fact, a lot of people did just that last year! It’s always been known past Presidents pull in big dollars on the speakers circuit. But just how much do they get paid? While I’m sure it depends on which President is speaking, the price tag for snagging a former President for a speaking engagement is huge!
Details Come Out In Finacial Documents
During the confirmation process for now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, some interesting financial information came out. According to the documents, former President Bill Clinton earned $5.7 million in speaking fees during 2008. Of the money he received from giving speeches, $4.6 million was supplied by foreign sources, including Kuwait, Mexico, Canada, Germany and India.
But what, there’s more! According to the same documents, many of the executives who paid speaking fees to Bill Clinton, also contributed to the William J. Clinton Foundation. His foundation is looking for solutions to global issues, such as AIDS in Africa. This of course is where some questioned conflict of interest issues when it comes to Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State. Just how many favors are now out there hanging over the Obama Administrations head? I guess time will tell on that one.
Where did the former Presidents biggest payday come from? That was north of the US border. The Toronto-based Power Within Incorporated, which offers motivational and training seminars around North America tops the list! From that company, the former President collected $1.25 million for a series of speeches, including $525 thousand for one appearance in Edmonton last June. Not bad for days worth of work. Apparently people are willing to pay anything to hear a guy speak who single-handedly demoralized the White House Oval Office with his sex-antics.
Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus
This is similar to the issue with the big game ads. Is what you’re getting from a speech by former Pres. Clinton or a big game commercial worth the fee that is being asked? Additionally, if the fee for Clinton is what was reported, then just think of how much tickets would cost just to recoup the cost of bringing him in if it was open to the public. But, and this is the “beauty” of the market I guess–people will pay it, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to ask for, and get, it.
Keep up the good work!
Hey Rus, I like your choice of Clinton photo. It exudes duplicity. ” Would you buy a car from this guy?”. It leads to the speculation that the payers of these huge speaking fees want Bill’s unseen shady machinations rather than what he drivels out in his speaking.