Bill Clinton Earned $15 million from Burkle Firm
Once you put aside book deals and speeches, another major source of income for the Clintons has been the$15.4 million the former president earned from billionaire Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. investment firm since 2003, according to tax documents released by Sen. Hillary Clinton Friday.
Bloomberg reports that the money represents 20 percent of the "approximately $75 million Bill Clinton earned during the same period, according to the documents. That may raise new questions about what services he performed for Los Angeles-based Yucaipa, whose investors include the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al- Maktoum."
"Most people who make that much money work for it,'" said Yale University tax law professor Michael Graetz, a former Treasury Department official in President George H.W. Bush's administration. "What are they being paid for, and if it's the Sheikh of Dubai paying the husband of somebody who might be the next president of the United States, what do they think they're paying for?"
A spokesman for President Clinton said in an e-mailed statement that Clinton "provides his best advice on potential investments, advocates generally on behalf of the funds, and seeks to create opportunities for investors to consider investing in the fund."
Thomas Edsall at the Huffington Post writes "Burkle and Yucaipa have been involved in a number of controversies that have reportedly prompted concerns in Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign that her bid might be damaged by resulting adverse publicity."
The New York Times reports that Clinton representatives are saying that Clinton will end his work with the firm if his wife wins the presidency, "to avoid possible ethical conflicts."
4:02 PM ET | 04- 5-2008 | permalink
