Money Talks

After finishing a long term in public office, many politicians earn healthy amounts of cash through speaking engagements. Indeed, booking one of America’s more recognizable public figures comes with a hefty pricetag. Even though speaking engagements can prove highly lucrative for politicians, they can also be risky. The extortionate prices charged by some speakers have, somewhat unsurprisingly, sometimes led to accusations of greed.

So who are the costliest public speakers in the United States? ABC News took a look at some of the country’s highest speaking fees with Donald Trump coming first by a huge distance. The billionaire earned an incredible $1.5 million for each of his 17 speeches (where he was contracted to speak for an hour) at The Learning Annex’s “real estate wealth expos” in 2006 and 2007. According to ABC, The Donald will make a speech for $200,000 and up so his price may not always stretch into the millions.

Economist Ben Bernanke makes up to $400,000 per speaking engagement, placing him second on the list while Bill or Hillary Clinton would cost somewhere around $200,000. Former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner would also pick up $200,000 per speaking engagement while the bill for availing of George W. Bush and Condoleeza Rice’s speaking skills would come to $150,000. If you intend hiring one of America’s more recognisable public figures for a speech, you should start saving.

*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)

Reprinted from Forbes.com.