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Hillary Clinton won’t or can’t stop giving speeches, even though her price has fallen from well into six figures to less than Snooki received at the same campus.  Sporting a cast on her arm from reportedly falling in her bathtub in India after stumbling down a staircase in public there, the twice-failed presidential candidate received $25,000 for addressing an audience at Rutgers University yesterday. NJ.com reports that this sum, that Nancy Pelosi would probably call “cumbs,” was just over 2/3 the sum paid by Rutgers to partake of the wisdom of Snooki: Rutgers has a history of shelling out...

Former President Obama’s presence among Wall Street executives once derided as “fat cats” now nets him roughly $400,000 on the industry’s speaking circuit. A source close to a Northern Trust Corp. speech last month told Bloomberg News on Monday that Mr. Obama was compensated close to $400,000 for his services. Additional sources said that he recently addressed members of the Carlyle Group LP and will receive a similar six-figure paycheck as the keynote speaker at a health-care conference for investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald LP.

Who wouldn't pay to listen to such sweet sounds? Here’s what I’ve never quite worked out about people paying Hillary $200,000 to speak to them (or even $1 for that matter). Since it obviously isn’t because they enjoy listening to her, are they simply paying for her star power in order to ensure they get standing-room only for their business or association event? Or is (or should I say was) it the other way around . . . you’re paying Hillary to speak as a kiss-up so that she’ll take care of you once she returns to political power?

It’s so great to be here tonight. I am honored to also be joined this evening by Governor Scott Walker, Chairman Reince Priebus, and Mayor Rudy Giuliani. We are at a decisive moment in this election. Last week, I laid out my plan to bring jobs back to our country. Yesterday, I laid out my plan to defeat Radical Islamic Terrorism. Tonight, I am going to talk about how to make our communities safe again from crime and lawlessness. Let me begin by thanking the law enforcement officers here in this city, and across this country, for their service and...

By way of a disclaimer, I didn’t watch the Democrats’ town hall last night. (I’ve been sick since Tuesday, sorry.) It doesn’t sound like I missed much in terms of breaking news, new policy announcements or serious fumbles. In fact, the “biggest” moment of the night appears to have come from Hillary Clinton when Anderson Cooper took a swing at her out of left field, asking her why she had to accept all those huge speaking fees for the past several years. (Politico) Hillary Clinton gave no ground to Bernie Sanders over her progressive credentials at a televised forum...

When the University of Missouri at Kansas City was looking for a celebrity speaker to headline its gala luncheon marking the opening of a women’s hall of fame, one name came to mind: Hillary Rodham Clinton. But when the former secretary of state’s representatives quoted a fee of $275,000, officials at the public university balked. “Yikes!” one e-mailed another. So the school turned to the next best option: her daughter, Chelsea. The university paid $65,000 for Chelsea Clinton’s brief appearance Feb. 24, 2014, a demonstration of the celebrity appeal and marketability that the former and possibly second-time first daughter employs...

Hillary Clinton is going to have a real problem running for president as a woman of the people. And the evidence mounts by the day. First, you'll recall her hilarious claim of being "dead broke" upon leaving the rent-free White House in 2001 and confronting mortgages on two mansions. We've all heard about her scores of strictly-controlled, quarter-million dollar speeches to every convention of scrap metal dealers and the like since jumping off the sinking S.S. Obama last year. Now comes a most amazing compilation of regal needs and demands before the ex-first lady, ex-senator, ex-secretary of State will condescend...

Hillary Clinton continued to justify her high-dollar speaking fees on Friday, telling ABC News' Ann Compton that all of the money she's made from colleges over the past year and a half has been donated to her family's foundation. "All of the fees have been donated to the Clinton Foundation for it to continue its life-changing and life-saving work. So it goes from a foundation at a university to another foundation," Clinton said when asked about the criticism she and her husband have faced recently for their wealth. Hillary Clinton reportedly makes roughly $200,000 for each speaking engagement. And recent...

Hillary Clinton on Friday defended her six-figure speaking fees, saying she's donated all the money earned from colleges over the past year to her family's foundation. “All of the fees have been donated to the Clinton Foundation for it to continue its life-changing and life-saving work. So it goes from a foundation at a university to another foundation,” she told ABC News on Friday. The former secretary of State and potential 2016 presidential contender reportedly charges about $200,000 for speaking engagements. Clinton recently drew fire from University of Nevada Las Vegas students who threatened to protest an upcoming fundraiser she's...

WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - One of U.S. President Barack Obama's closest aides was paid $100,000 by a company doing business with Iran just before joining the White House staff, the Washington Post reported on Monday, raising awkward election-year questions for the Democrat trying to get tough with Tehran. White House senior adviser David Plouffe received the speaking fee from Africa's biggest wireless phone operator, MTN Group, for two speeches he made in Nigeria in December 2010, the company and administration officials confirmed. Plouffe listed it with many others on his official financial disclosures after he joined the White House...

Her CPAC speech today was a barn-burner, hitting every conservative, small-government point and pumping out soundbites that will no doubt resonate in the public dialogue for days to come. Some of my favorites: “Drain the Jacuzzi!” “This government isn’t too big to fail, it’s too big to succeed.” “We don’t want an economy built to last, we want an economy built to grow.” “This is Obama’s Washington.” Her signature line in this speech was “The door is open.” She meant that political conditions are becoming conducive to a renewed commitment to small government and liberty. People’s mindsets are changing. We...

George W. Bush made $15M on speaking circuit By: Jennifer Epstein May 20, 2011 09:05 AM EDT Before he left the White House, George W. Bush said he had plans to “replenish the ol’ coffers” by making a ‘ridiculous’ amount of money on the lecture circuit. Like other recent former presidents, he’s done just that. In the two years since leaving office, Bush has earned an estimated $15 million at $100,000 to $150,000 per speech, the Center for Public Integrity reported Friday. Bush’s spokesman, David Sherzer, said the former president has delivered about 140 paid speeches. Sherzer did not immediately...

Sarah Palin may be — well, let's face it, she is — a polarizing political figure. We differ with her on many topics, but we support her right as a private citizen to make good money for her public appearances. A California state senator's attacks on her contract with Cal State Stanislaus are off base and weaken his original, stronger argument for better public disclosure by private foundations that raise funds for state universities.

Many pundits, Alaskans, and simple political observers have pondered why Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin resigned from office. One answer now seems apparent—money. Since her resignation, Palin has been offered over 1,000 invitations to make paid speeches, appear, and campaign on behalf of politicians and political groups. She has received offers from numerous speakers’ bureaus (scouts for speechmakers) and has reportedly signed with at least one of them, the Washington Speakers Bureau. Washington Speakers Bureau’s clientele currently consist of Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, Bob Woodward, Katie Couric, Colin Powell, Rudy Giulianni, Alan Greenspan, and many...

Volunteer groups in Ireland are criticizing ex-President Bill Clinton for charging a suicide prevention charity $125,000 for a 40 minute speech Monday night. "Any initiative that contributes to the prevention of suicide is very welcome,” said Pat Buckley, spokesman for a group of Irish suicide support groups, in an interview with the Irish Examiner. "But the money it will cost for Bill Clinton to make this keynote speech would fund a lot of counseling for the bereaved and those at risk of suicide in places like Cork, Limerick or Kerry." Clinton's fee, Buckley added, could also cover the costs of...

March 25, 2005 HER BODY, MY SELF : What's In It for Michael Schiavo? -added font A SHORT NOTE CONCERNING the financial benefits to Michael Schiavo that will accrue from the death of his wife. AmericanDigest.org -added website source Posted by Vanderleun -added author (EXCERPT) What I do have some sense of is how much money Michael Schiavo stands to make if, and only if, his wife dies. It is, for a man, with a fresh new wife and two children, substantial. Having worked as an editor for Houghton Mifflin and as a literary agent, I have some the price...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Back when federal lawmakers legally could be paid for speaking to outside groups, John Kerry collected more than $120,000 in fees from interests as diverse as big oil, tobacco, the liquor lobby and unions, records show. Between 1985 and 1990, Kerry's first five years in the Senate from Massachusetts, he pocketed annual amounts slightly under the limits for speaking fees set by Congress. Unlike many colleagues, he donated a speaking fee to charity only once, according to annual financial disclosure reports reviewed by The Associated Press. One of the companies to pay Kerry $1,000 for a speech...

<p>Democratic gubernatorial candidate Robert Reich, who earned more than $800,000 from speeches to corporations and other groups last year, has defended his out-of-state speaking engagements. Even after his scheduled speeches began colliding with gubernatorial debates, Reich insisted on keeping his commitments to make the paid appearances, with his spokeswoman saying: ''He believes in keeping his promises.''</p>