Clintons Earned $30 Million in 16 Months, Report Shows
By MAGGIE HABERMAN and STEVE EDER

Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband made at least $30 million over the last 16 months, mainly from giving paid speeches to corporations, banks and other organizations, according to financial disclosure forms filed with federal elections officials on Friday.

The sum, which makes Mrs. Clinton among the wealthiest of the 2016 presidential candidates, could create challenges for the former secretary of state as she tries to cast herself as a champion of everyday Americans in an era of income inequality.

The $25 million in speaking fees since the beginning of last year continue a lucrative trend for the Clintons: They have now earned more than $125 million on the circuit since leaving the White House in 2001.

In addition, the report shows, Mrs. Clinton reported income exceeding $5 million from her memoir of her time as secretary of state, “Hard Choices.”

The Clintons’ riches have already become a subject of political attacks, and her campaign has been eager to showcase Mrs. Clinton as a more down-to-earth figure. Her only declared Democratic opponent at this point, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is an avowed socialist, while Republicans like Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin have considerably more modest means.

A major dimension of Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy is expected to be policy proposals to narrow the gap between the rich and poor and to address stagnant wages. Yet she is far from those problems; while she said she and President Clinton were “dead broke” when they left the White House in early 2001, they are now part of the American elite.

The report makes clear that Mrs. Clinton, since leaving the State Department, has joined the family speechmaking business with gusto. But the former president can still command higher fees than his wife, collecting about an average of about $250,000 per speech to $235,000 for Mrs. Clinton.

And while Mr. Clinton’s largest honorarium was the $500,000 he collected from the EAT Stockholm Food Forum in Sweden, his wife’s engagements topped out at $350,000.

Of Mrs. Clinton’s speeches, 10 were delivered to audiences outside the United States, but they were not nearly as far-flung as those by her husband over the years. Nine were to Canadian groups: the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Whistler, British Columbia; trade organizations in Montreal and Vancouver; the think tank Canada 2020, which generates socially progressive policy; and five organized by the events firm tinePublic Inc. The 10th speech was to a health care company audience in Mexico City.

Mrs. Clinton also spoke to a mix of corporations (GE, Cisco, Deutsche Bank), medical and pharmaceutical groups (the California Medical Association and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association), and women’s organizations like the Commercial Real Estate Women Network.

Mr. Clinton’s speeches included a number of talks for financial firms, including Bank of America and UBS, as well as technology companies like Microsoft and Oracle.

The disclosure forms cover Jan. 1, 2014 to May 14 of this year. They show that even as his wife has begun her pursuit of the presidency, Mr. Clinton has shown no signs of slowing down: He gave three speeches in recent days, including one Thursday for the American Institute of Architects in Atlanta, and two on Tuesday in New York — one for Univision Management and one for Apollo Management Holdings.

The disclosure forms do not reveal what taxes the couple paid on their income, but a campaign official who requested anonymity said they had paid an effective tax rate of about 30 percent.

Mrs. Clinton’s last filing, which covered her final years as secretary of state, disclosed more than $16 million in income. Most of the money, mainly covering 2012, stemmed from about 70 honorariums for President Clinton.

The Clintons have come under increasing scrutiny for their financial activities since she announced her run for president last month. Much of the attention has been focused on the Clinton Foundation and the donations it received from foreign entities during the time that she was secretary of state.

But the couple has also faced criticism for giving highly paid speeches to certain groups, particularly the financial industry.

The speaking circuit has enriched many well-known Washington figures and former presidents, but the exorbitant pay for light work can distance them from the realities most Americans experience at their jobs. In one case, the report shows, Mrs. Clinton received $100,000 for a speech to the California Medical Association — by satellite.

近1.5年9.1億…柯林頓夫妻太會賺 拖累選戰

美國2016總統大選參選人希拉蕊和她的夫婿柯林頓賺錢有術，最近16個月進帳逾三千萬美元（約台幣九億一千萬元），主要來自接受企業、銀行與其他組織邀約所做的演講。

這些收入讓希拉蕊成為總統大選參選人中最多金的一位，也對希拉蕊的選戰構成另一挑戰。希拉蕊亟於在收入不均嚴重的美國把自己形塑為替尋常百姓打拚的鬥士，她與夫婿日進斗金卻與這種形象不符。根據統計，柯林頓夫婦是全美前百分之0.1的高收入者。

根據2014年1月1日到今年5月14日的財產申報資料，希拉蕊與柯林頓前16個月共賺進演講費兩千五百五十萬美元，加上希拉蕊出版自傳 「抉擇」（Hard Choice）另賺進五百萬美元版稅。紐約時報報導，柯林頓夫婦2001年離開白宮後，演講費收入累計逾一億兩千五百萬美元（約台幣卅八億元）。

根據聯邦選舉委員會候選人的財產申報資料，柯林頓夫婦的資產至少有一千一百卅萬美元（約台幣三億四千萬元），還不包括個人住宅。

柯林頓夫婦的財富早已是選戰攻擊目標，希拉蕊的策士正努力將她塑造成腳踏實地、謙遜的候選人，但目前已宣布的參選人中，顯然她的財力無人能及，無論是她的民主黨對手桑德斯，或是共和黨籍參議員魯比歐、威斯康辛州州長華克。

預料希拉蕊會把縮小貧富差距及解決薪資原地踏步問題列為政見。但二者均非希拉蕊的問題。希拉蕊曾說，她和柯林頓2001年離開白宮時「身無分文」，現在卻躋身美國精英階級。

根據財產申報資料，希拉蕊不當國務卿後，旋即加入家族演講事業。不過，柯林頓的單場演講費廿五萬美元，仍高於希拉蕊的廿三萬五千美元。即使希拉蕊已宣布角逐民主黨總統候選人資格，柯林頓仍是馬不停蹄四處演說，最近幾天即講了三場，包括14日在亞特蘭大對美國建築師協會開講。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/us/politics/clintons-reportedly-earned-30-million-in-the-last-16-months.html

2015-05-17．聯合報．A13．國際．編譯王麗娟