A funny little nugget buried in Romney’s statement this morning on his tax returns. In passing, Romney said although most of his money came from investment income, a small amount came from speeches. “I get speakers fees from time to time but not very much.” Well, it turns out that amount is over $374,000 last year. Which is a fair amount of money, though to give some perspective, not a wild amount of money compared to what other retired politicians make giving speeches.
I think Bill Clinton can sometimes make upwards of half a million dollars for a single speech. The only thing that surprises me about those numbers is that Romney, who’s independently wealthy, would be charging those fees basically while he’s running for president. Nothing illegal. Nothing unethical. But I’d figure he’d avoid having to discuss those numbers.
What this does mean though, I think, is that this puts Romney in the 1% for speeches alone.
Video after the jump …
