Category: Business

Democrats are quick to criticize President Bush’s handling of the economy. However, at least one top Democrat has done pretty well during the last eight years.

Former President Bill Clinton made $9.2 million in speaking fees in just his first year out of office in 2001. He later got a reported advance between $10 million and $12 million for his memoir, My Life.

All this money adds up. Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, listed their assets as between $17.4 million and $53.7 million, in the most recent report made public.

And now it appears that Bill Clinton is eligible for a $20 million payout for his relationship with a private equity firm. (Story continues below interactive map.)

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Clinton will receive the money as a result of his role as an advisor from 2002 to 2007 to funds managed by Yucaipa Companies.

Ronald W. Burkle, Clinton’s friend and a major Democratic Party contributor, is the founder and managing partner of Yucaipa. The firm has invested heavily in supermarkets and other ventures.

The Journal reported that Clinton last year decided to end his connection to Yucaipa, so as not to complicate his wife’s presidential bid.

A Yucaipa fund, the Yucaipa Global Partnership Fund LP, is connected to the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the paper reported. That link could become controversial if the power of foreign investments in this country becomes a campaign issue for Sen. Clinton.

According to the Journal, Clinton is eligible for the $20 million because Yucaipa sold Wild Oaks Market Inc. and Pathmark Stores. The transactions substantially increased the profits of two Yucaipa domestic funds, triggering the payout.

In a 2006 story in The New York Times, Burkle described Clinton’s role at the company:

“He explains to people better than we can why these are good things to invest in,” Burkle said. “He’ll talk about the importance to the economy, to the community. And he builds the brand of Yucaipa.”

The Times quoted Clinton from a 2003 speech in which he explained why he decided to join Yucaipa:

“(The company) has earned a phenomenal return in investing in three things I care about,” he said. “In underserved communities, in underperforming companies that are friendly to their workers and their families, and in minority-owned businesses.”

Burkle and Clinton met in 1992, when Clinton was running for the presidency. They became friends, and Clinton would stay at Burkle’s house when he was in California.

Burkle hosted a March 2007 fundraiser for Sen. Clinton at his home in California that took in $2.6 million.

In 2007, Forbes magazine estimated Burkle’s wealth at $3.5 billion, placing him at number 91 on the list of 400 richest Americans.

A college dropout, Burkle started out in the grocery business by stocking shelves.

Burkle has looked into the newspaper business, but his efforts to acquire the Tribune Company and Knight Ridder did not pan out.

The New York Daily News reported in 2006 that Jared Paul Stern, a contributor to the gossip pages of the New York Post, attempted to extort $220,000 from Burkle in exchange for good coverage, money that Burkle did not pay.

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