Tony Blair has made $20 million in 7 months since leaving office -- and more's coming

London Evening Standard: £10m and rising... Blair coffers swell with another job in the City
30.01.08

Tony Blair landed another highly-paid City job yesterday to take his earnings past £10million in the seven months since he left Downing Street. He is well on his way to becoming Britain's richest former Prime Minister after becoming an adviser to the Swiss financial giant Zurich for an estimated £2million a year. Mr Blair, 54, will assist the insurance firm on climate change and "developments and trends in the international political environment"....

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Mr Blair's latest consultancy comes on top of his £2.5million-a-year job with Wall Street investment bank JP Morgan. He has also had a string of speaking engagements reportedly bringing in £500,000 and received a huge advance for his memoirs. The speed at which he has amassed a bulging portfolio after leaving No10 only last June astonished MPs.

The former premier has balanced his business appointments with unpaid roles as a Middle East envoy and adviser to Rwanda.

He is also lobbying to be the first full-time president of the European Union from next year, which will pay £200,000 a year. Insiders said he is making as much money as possible now in case he is given the role, which would force him to give up other commitments.

Mr Blair's office and Zurich refused to confirm how much he would receive. But a source said: "Tony does not pick up the phone or lift a pen for less than £1million."...

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Norman Baker, the campaigning Liberal Democrat MP, said: "Has the man no shame? It is a huge embarrassment for Britain to have a former Prime Minister hawking himself around with a big "For Sale" sign around his neck."

Mr Blair also receives £90,000 for office costs and a prime ministerial pension of £64,000, which will double when he hits retirement age....

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23434528-details/%C2%A310m+and+rising...+Blair+coffers+swell+with+another+job+in+the+City/article.do

I think Blair is a poodle-man, too, but most of this stuff is SOP business whoring.

--p!

and was astonished at Blair's going along with Bush. England is a small country, and you saw the coffins coming home, and the services in small villages. You saw a true picture of the war on the news. It didn't seem like the Blair I thought I knew from previous press reports. I always thought there was an ulterior motive, and money was the only one that made sense to me. In fact, the Blairs bought themselves mansions even before leaving office, on the expectation of untold riches.

I always thought he would work for the Carlyle Group, but so far, not. Maybe these millions would have come if he hadn't gone along hand in hand with Bush and the U.S. -- if he'd rebelled, and said we will not go with you, our troops will not shed blood in Iraq. But I don't know.

I like a comfortable life, too, and don't fault the Blairs for that. But not at such cost, if this is his reward for war.

Pining for "leadership" is a waste of time. Blame, likewise, is pretty ineffective. The best leadership we can have is if 100,000 of us "little people" decide to run for office bearing a Democratic populist agenda. Hoping that Obama or Hillary will save us is futile. Politicians are our hired help -- WE are in charge of the world, or ought to be.

--p!

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