Together, Hillary Clinton and her husband have earned in excess of $125 million in speech income since leaving the White House in 2001.
Last week, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen was interviewed on MSNBC and asked if it was a mistake for Clinton to be taking those obscene speaking fees from the big banks.
MSNBC HOST: The New York Times is reporting yesterday that Goldman Sachs has paid Hillary Clinton $675,000 for three speeches in recent years. She was paid millions more by other Wall Street firms. Along with her husband, they've been paid more than $125 million for paid speeches since 2001. That is, of course, not the kind of money that most Americans can relate to. Were the speeches a mistake, senator?
SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN: Listen, voters are angry, and I don't blame them, because they've been watching a Washington that has been divisive, that hasn't worked together. And I believe we need a candidate who's not going to further divide this country but who's going to unite it. That's one of the reasons I'm supporting Hillary.
MSNBC HOST: But that's not my question, senator.
SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN: Well, your first question was, are voters angry, and I would say yes.
MSNBC HOST: No, I never asked that question. I think that's well established. The question was, are the speeches, were the speeches a mistake? Did it make sense to accept close to...
SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN: Look, it doesn't matter whether you support that or not. The fact is, that's in the past, just as Bernie's socialism, he claims, is in the past.
Just by giving 12 speeches to Wall Street banks, private equity firms, and other financial corporations, Hillary Clinton herself made $2.9 million from 2013 to 2015 — but that was in the past, just like Bernie's socialism was in the past. Just like Senator Jeanne Shaheen's vote for the Iraq war and the Bush tax cuts are in the past.
Clinton’s most lucrative year was 2013, right after stepping down as secretary of state. That year, she made $2.3 million for three speeches to Goldman Sachs and individual speeches to Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments, Apollo Management Holdings, UBS, Bank of America, and Golden Tree Asset Managers. The following year, she picked up $485,000 for a speech to Deutsche Bank and an address to Ameriprise.
But all-in-all, Hillary Clinton’s haul from Wall Street speeches pales in comparison to her husband’s.
UPDATE: (The Guardian):
"I worked on Wall Street. I am skeptical Hillary Clinton will rein it in ... More than 23 years following Bill Clinton’s election, Wall Street is very much intertwined with the Clintons: they helped fundamentally change Wall Street, and Wall Street fundamentally changed the Democratic party. So maybe they really do know what it takes to reform both. Maybe. Except that Hillary Clinton continues to receive large donations from top bankers. Ask anyone who has spent the last two decades on Wall Street which politicians have worked for them the hardest, and most will grudgingly admit it’s the Clintons. I doubt that will change anytime soon."
It makes one curious: What sage words of wisdom could Hillary impart on all those unenlightened Wall Street bankers that could be worth $250,000 to them for a one hour speech? No one is saying that giving a speech (or getting paid for giving a speech) was in itself immoral, unethical or illegal — although the optics weren't very conducive to eluding the appearance of impropriety. But what did the bankers get out of the deal? We don’t even get a toaster any more for opening a savings account. And Hillary laughed when she was asked if she would release transcripts of her Goldman Sachs speeches.