Important- see Update 4 below- the Clintons are NOT releasing details for 2007 income, as they promised. They are instead filing for an extension. This is the year that Bill made the most money from consulting fees, speeches in foreign countries, from Vinod Gupta (Survey USA) and, in theory, from Burkle's company.
Breaking on Drudge right now:
World Exclusive: 4/4/08 15:43:06 ET
2000-2007 Returns
$109 Million in Income
Feds Taxes Paid: $33.7 million
Charity: $10.2 million
Update 1:
Her Senate Salary: $1,051,606
His Presidential Pension: $1,217,250
Her Book Income: $10,457,083
His Book Income: $29,580,525
His Speech Income: $51,855,599
Update 2:
Official returns posted on Clinton's official campaign website
Here.
That's a lot of money by anyone's standards. Is this the reason why she was holding out for so long- for fear that the fact they are very, very rich would hurt her image? Will it hurt her ability to connect with her poverty stricken constituents? Or was there something else that was she hiding?
What's with the timing? Obviously she knew that today was Dr. King's day. They released them 1 hour before the MLK march in Memphis and during the MLK rally. Take from that what you will...
It will be very interesting to get the details as they become available.
A few things strike me right off the bat. First, the large income amount (much larger than previous estimates of up to $50 million). Second, the amount of Fed taxes paid is quite high relative to the amount of income- this seems to suggest that they paid pretty much according to top-earner income tax brackets. Correct me if I'm wrong about this. Third, charitable contributions of $10 million are also respectable- it will be interesting to see which charities those were.
Finally, it now seems much less significant that she loaned her campaign $5 million. She could've done that many times over!
Update 3: Several people are saying what I expect will be an anti-Obama talking point- that Obama donated significantly less to charity in terms of percentages than did the Clintons. But let's make this clear- when you're making $109 million, it is much easier to donate 10% of your money to charity. The Obamas have donated more to charity each year as they become more financially stable, but they still have a nest egg and their daughters' educations to plan for. The Clintons are set for life. 10% is respectable by any count, but it is much more feasible for the Clintons to donate 10%, it has little to no bearing on the fact that they are and will continue to be very rich.
Update 4: Interesting that the Clintons did not release their 2007 returns AND will be filing for an extension for 2007. This is interesting for a few reasons- 1)because this was their most profitable year in terms of Bill's speeches- many of which took place in foreign countries. 2) Bill Clinton was expected to receive up to a $20 million payout in 2007 for severing his ties with Burkle's company...
Chris Matthews says the Clintons promised they would release the 2007 returns many times - anyone have evidence of this?