By The Prowler on 3.23.07 @ 12:09AM
Bill Clinton's Gulf state nest egg.
The Clinton Crack-Up, by American
Spectator founder and editor in chief, R. Emmett
Tyrrell, Jr., recounts former President Bill
Clinton's efforts to build closer financial ties to overseas
investors and money men, and reports on the millions the former
president has made from those relationships.
But as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton continues
her campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination, renewed
focus is being placed on exactly how the Clintons have made their
millions in just the past six years.
Wall Street insiders are abuzz over estimates that Bill Clinton
alone may have roped in more than $200 million in funds from the
Emir of Dubai and other individuals based in the United Arab
Emirates.
"This includes personal funds, money paid into the Clinton
Library charitable accounts, as well as money paid into the
charitable organizations Clinton worked on for the Tsunami and
Hurricane Katrina victims," says one knowledgeable Wall Street
financier. "We're talking about a lot of money."
Clinton has made a number of trips to the UAE in recent years,
collecting appearance and speaking fees estimated at more than
$300,000 per. The former president has also served as what one
Clinton insider calls an "investment adviser" to some of the UAE's
wealthiest men, and stands to collect fees in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars for brokering the partnerships and investment
deals that move forward through investment and real estate firms in
New York and Europe.
As we previously reported,
Clinton insiders say Clinton also collected a consulting fee for
work on the early iterations of the Dubai Ports deal in 2006,
passing work to his former secretary of state, Madeleine
Albright, and other members of his administration inner
circle.
More than a few million of Arab money ended up in the Clinton
Library, where the former President maintains a residence. Millions
poured into the facility from the Saudi royal family and the
governments of Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, and Brunei. Similar millions
were drawn to the two charitable accounts for the Katrina and
Tsunami natural disasters.
"You hear that Clinton may have pulled in as much as $100
million from all these sources, but on Wall Street and elsewhere in
New York, you often hear a higher figure in the $200 million
range," says one equity fund manager in New York. "You look at his
global charity, his personal appearances, and the work he does
quietly in Washington and it all adds up. This isn't about funding
lifestyle, it's about power and using it for influence to help
Hillary when she -- and he -- needs it."
topics:
Bill Clinton
