President George W. Bush took a lot of flak for his way with words during his time in office, but after stepping down he has reportedly spun his words into gold.
Bush has been paid for at least 200 speeches, “typically pocketing $100,000 to $175,000 per appearance,” according to Politico in a post published on Sunday. The former President has reportedly soaked up millions of dollars.
He’s certainly not alone: both his father George H.W. Bush and, more noticably, Bill Clinton (not to mention Hillary Clinton) have racked up impressive speaking fees over the years.
The main difference appears to be that Bush favors private gigs over the more visible events the Clintons tend to frequent.
Bush’s patrons reportedly range from the National Association of Drug Stores to chambers of commerce to global wealth management firms:
“Evil is real,” he said at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas.
“Bowling is fun,” he said at a get-together for the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America in Orlando.
“History will ultimately judge whether I made the right decisions or not,” he said at a gathering put on by the Advertising Specialty Institute in Dallas.
