Is Chelsea Clinton Worth $75,000 Per Speech?
I can see her father, Bill, or or mother, Hillary, getting this amount - $75,000 - to speak for an hour at some private function. Actually, her parents earn a whopping $200-700,000 to speak. So, if either were willing to do it for this paltry sum, it would be a real bargain. But, is anyone worth that kind of money for an hour? Her parents have earned $17 million just from talking around the world, it must be nice.
I guess you really could say the Clinton's are royalty. But, Chelsea, 34, is just a rich kid who grew up in the White House in a protective bubble as a single child. She has always avoided the public life and for the most part, the media could care less about her unless she did something outlandish, which she would never do. She has always been the "good" daughter. No wild college adventures, she is a "plain Jane". Now, she is going to be a mother.
She has become the spokesperson for the Clinton Foundation that seeks donations from across the globe supporting poor nations, disasters, women and girls. According to the foundation, Chelsea actually speaks for free because whatever the cost of the speaking engagement is, it given to the Foundation. Yet, many have questioned about their taxpayer supported foundation. There have been calls for full disclosure about how much money is donated and how it is being used by the foundation. So far, it has not happened.
Even if it were true, that Chelsea's fee for speaking is given to the Clinton Foundation, she is part of it, the Chairperson for it. Are you saying zero dollars never go to her or accessed by her? Right. There is something "out of whack" when NBC News pays her $600,000 a year to be a "special correspondent". How often does she appear for a few minutes?
But, worse, what in the world could she speak about that would command such income? Sure, she is the reluctant Clinton, but still pampered with hardly a day in her life that she felt poor. Her speeches usually try to uplift women and girls to promote equality but in her own words, she is obsessed with diarrhea. Why? It has something to do with eradicating water-borne diseases in poor countries. She talks about the Foundation goals and does a sell for it for more donations to help poor countries. Her talks usually have a Q&A about her life in the White House, her college days at Stanford and Oxford and explaining what her cerebral-like speech to normal folk meant.
Still,as a Clinton, she has star power. Consider that former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright charges only $60,000 to speak. The same applies to General Colin Powell and Jeb Bush. All have much more experience in government and foreign policy and far more interesting.
The audience seems to be split about her. Some think she is like her father, friendly and works the crowd well, approachable. Others, think she is elitist, uses too many words commoners don't know and cut-off from the real world.
In truth, nobody should really care what she has to say. She is just riding on the path blazed by her parents. Nothing more, nothing less.