It is the reality of life that people who take up Govt. offices ( elected to do so) do so after a long and at times ardous road. They do have to make sacrifices in their respective Jobs/profession to reach that office. This can be translated to financial gain/loss etc. But, after leaving their office they should be left alone to persue their life ( like an aging and out of actor) ...After all they did play a part in making history ...( irrespective whether it is good or bad for the world) .. and so their version of events is what many will pay to hear ...Or may be it is like a Medal on your jacket.. to have an ex- president to address an event or be at the dinner etc...whatever ! They have the full right to be free to associate with whomever they wish..... this may include old enemies when he or she was in office.....Money is great attraction .. specially when you have rubbbed shoulders with the Mega rich when in office and living on Govt. Salary and expenses...There is no reason why he or she should be denied the opportunity to earn money and maintain their status....
Regards to all.
Here an F.O.B., There an F.O.B.
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Even so, Bill Clinton seems to recognize that some of his relationships could become politically problematic. Aides to the former president recently told reporters Clinton would move to sever his business ties with billionaire Ron Burkle. An entrepreneur with a playboy reputation, Burkle signed up Clinton as a senior adviser to the Yucaipa Cos., Burkle's private investment firm. The arrangement included stakes in Yucaipa partnerships. Little was known about Clinton's profits from this arrangement until last week, when The Wall Street Journal reported that the former president was expected to reap about $20 million when the company bought back his shares. Clinton's spokesman tells NEWSWEEK the amount of his compensation has not yet been determined.
One possible issue that might have affected Clinton's decision to reconsider his business relationship with Burkle: the financier's ties to the Arab emirate of Dubai. One of Clinton's partners in a Yucaipa fund is the Dubai Investment Group, a company closely linked to Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Dubai's ruler. Clinton and Maktoum have a warm relationship, and the sheik, along with other Middle Eastern leaders, was a major contributor to Clinton's presidential library.
Bill's Dubai connection is potentially problematic for Hillary. Two years ago, the New York senator denounced the Bush administration when it failed to block a deal that would have handed over operations of six major U.S. ports to Dubai Ports World, a firm owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates. (The company eventually withdrew its bid.) This month, Hillary criticized oil-rich foreign governments that use "huge pools of money" to buy up stakes in major U.S. financial institutions. That's a good applause line—but a tough one to deliver with a straight face while her husband has a business partnership with a similar foreign fund. Mark Saylor, a U.S. spokesman for Dubai, tells NEWSWEEK that neither Dubai nor Maktoum would comment on their dealings with Bill Clinton.
Bill's business deals with other friends have also drawn scrutiny. According to Hillary's disclosure forms, he is a consultant to InfoUSA, a data-processing and marketing firm in Omaha. The company, which has paid him $3.3 million in consulting fees, is owned by Vinod Gupta, a billionaire who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Clintons' campaigns and contributed $1 million to the Clinton Foundation. Gupta has given the Clintons the use of his private jet, and has accompanied them on vacation. When Bill Clinton was president, Gupta was a guest in the Lincoln Bedroom.
Gupta's generosity to the Clintons led to a revolt among some stockholders in his company. They are suing InfoUSA, alleging Gupta wasted $900,000 in company funds flying the Clintons around the world and paying the former president huge fees for little work. Neither Gupta nor InfoUSA responded to requests for comment. But last June, Gupta praised Clinton's work for the company. "He helps us meet some of the right people," he told the Omaha World-Herald. "In many speeches, he has mentioned InfoUSA by name." Gupta said that his payments to Clinton weren't wasted. "We get back many times over what is spent on Bill. I would say over the last seven years, easily over $40 million."
Clinton may have another reason to regret his relationship with Gupta. Last year, members of Congress—including Barack Obama—pressed the Federal Trade Commission to investigate allegations that InfoUSA sold personal and consumer data about senior citizens to crooked telemarketers. The FTC would not comment on whether it's investigating; Bill's spokesperson says the former president has "not been following these allegations … If these allegations are true, the appropriate individuals should be held accountable."
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