A memo written by one of Bill Clinton’s closest aides highlights the lucrative speaking deals the former president had with some of the biggest companies in the world.
The 2011 memo, marked “Attorney-Client Privilege” was sent by Doug Band to two attorneys who were doing a review of the way the Foundation was being run; it was included in the cache of stolen emails released by WikiLeaks this week.
In the memo, Band details how he set up for-profit deals for the former president, both involving money and “as appropriate, in-kind services for the President and his family — for personal travel, hospitality, vacation and the like.”
Band’s memo covers 2001 to 2011, during which time “President Clinton’s business arrangements have yielded more than $30 million for him personally with $66 million to be paid out over the next nine years, should he choose to continue with the current engagements.”
The memo lists, among other details, a nearly $2 million, two-year deal with UBS, the Swiss financial services company, and a $1 million speaking fee for the telecom company Ericsson, plus a private plane to China to deliver it.
It is widely known that both Bill and Hillary Clinton made millions on speaking fees, and CNN had previously done an analysis from Hillary Clinton’s Federal Election Commission financial disclosure, which shows the Clintons raked in $153 million in speaking fees from 2001 to February 2016. That number currently stands at $155 million, according to the latest disclosure.
In the WikiLeaks email, Band also draws a clear line between the Clinton Foundation and Teneo Holdings, a private consulting firm started by Band and Declan Kelly, an Irish businessman with duel American citizenship, who once served as a special envoy for the US to Northern Ireland under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Band writes, “Since President Clinton left office, I have sought to leverage my activities, including my partner role at Teneo, to support and to raise funds for the Foundation.”
Band lists out the clients whose donations to the Foundation either began or were bolstered by Teneo’s help, including $4.3 million from Coca-Cola, $1.1 million by Barclays and $780,000 by Dow Chemical.
While both organizations are staffed and run by people who have been in the Clinton circle for years, a direct line between the two organizations has never been officially confirmed. But Bill Clinton served for a year on Teneo’s advisory board, leaving in 2012.
The memo is copied to former President Clinton, his daughter Chelsea and three other close aides, including John Podesta, whose emails were stolen. Band outlined the background of Teneo Holdings, which then had only been in existence for about six months with 65 employees.
Today, the company has more than 500 employees and describes itself as a consulting firm that helps big business navigate crises and connect them to powerful politicians. Bill Clinton once served as honorary chairman of Teneo.
Teneo issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon, saying it did not receive “any financial benefit” from its relationship with the Clinton Foundation.
“As the memo demonstrates, Teneo worked to encourage clients, where appropriate, to support the Clinton Foundation because of the good work that it does around the world,” the statement said. “It also clearly shows that Teneo never received any financial benefit or benefit of any kind from doing so.”