News   /   Politics

Hillary and Bill Clinton made $153 million off speeches: Study

US Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters as her husband, former US President Bill Clinton, and daughter Chelsea Clinton look on during a rally on February 1, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. (AFP photo)

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, made a combined $153 million off paid speeches from 2001 to 2015, a report says.

According to CNN’s analysis, in total, the couple gave 729 speeches from February 2001 until May 2015 -- when Hillary launched her presidential campaign -- for an average payout of $210,795 each address.

Of those speeches, at least 39 were given to big banks -- including Goldman Sachs and UBS – which paid the couple $7.7 million.

Hillary alone made at least $1.8 million for her eight speeches to big banks.

The Clintons' income puts them at the upper end of the top 0.1 percent of earners in the US population, according to government data. The exorbitant pay for light work can distance them from the realities most Americans experience at their jobs, critics argue.

Clinton’s Democratic presidential rival, Bernie Sanders, has repeatedly challenged her over her ties to big banks and other special interests.

“What being part of the establishment is, last quarter, having a super-PAC that raised $15 million from Wall Street, that throughout one's life raised a whole lot of money from the drug companies and other special interests," Sanders said during Thursday's presidential debate.

Clinton is also facing scrutiny for using her own private email server to conduct government business during her tenure as secretary of state.

She could face legal trouble after the State Department determined emails she sent and received on a homebrew server during her time in office.

Clinton said on Thursday that she is "100 percent confident" the ongoing investigation will not find wrongdoing.

Critics say the email scandal should disqualify Clinton for the presidency, and claim the investigation has had an impact on her sinking poll numbers.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku