Clinton's financial woes claim draws jibes

It's no great secret that former President Bill Clinton is famously eloquent, but it turns out that his silvertongued oratory is quite a cash register. An "inartful" claim by his wife and former first Lady Hillary Clinton that the couple left the White House "not only dead broke but in debt "has led to intense scrutiny of their finances, and what has emerged has left some people tongue-tied. 

The former President, according to one review of the family's federal financial disclosure, earned $104.9 million for 542 speeches around the world between January 2001, when he left the White House, and January 2013, when Hillary Clinton stepped down as secretary of state. This was when he also spoke in India at a media conclave. While Clinton himself commands over $200,000 per speech, Hillary is no slouch: She is collecting (for the Clinton Foundation, her aides clarified) $225,000 for a speech at the University of Las Vegas coming October. 

Both have received $10m plus advances for their memoirs, with Ajay Singh "Sonny" Mehta, editor -in-chief of the publishing firm Alfred Knopf, playing a key role in the commissioning. Republican and Conservative critics claim that they are possibly the wealthiest former White House occupants in history, with combined earnings of over $200 million. Their daughter Chelsea and her husband Marc Mezvinksy bought a $10m apartment in Manhattan. While there is little doubt that influential, articulate politicians, particularly former presidents, cabinet officials, and Washington insiders are in high demand as speakers, the Clintons address financial institutions, banks, industry groups, corporate honchos, and universities and rake millions as speaking fees each year.

One time, in the course of a week, Bill Clinton addressed corporate executives in Switzerland and Denmark, an investors' group in Sweden and business and political leaders in Austria, before wrapping up his European trip in Prague, where he shared his thoughts on energy to a Czech business summit. His pay, according to a Washington Post review: $1.4 million. 

But that hasn't impressed critics, including many liberal commentators, who see the former first couple as illustrating the growing income disparity in the US even while they claim to be struggling like ordinary Americans. 

"I still get emotional just thinking about it," The Daily Show's Jon Stewart jibed last week, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye with a $20 bill. The $20 bill, for the record, has a picture of the 7th US President, Andrew Jackson, who was also a slave owner.





Chidanand Rajghatta