Two bits of testimony Prince would come to regret: He said earlier today that Blackwater gets about 90 percent of its business from federal contracts, and he said that, “as an example,” under some of the contracts Blackwater has, it earns about a 10 percent profit margin. But Prince balked at saying how much money Blackwater actually makes in Iraq. Since the beginning of the war, Blackwater has been awarded contracts worth roughly $1 billion. “We’re a private company,” he said. “The key word there is private.”
Reps. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT) pounded on the question. “How can you say that information isn’t relevant?” Murphy said, saying “my constituents pay 90 percent of your salary. Welch, “just trying to do the math,” pointed out that 10 percent of $1 billion is $100 million, but Prince repeatedly backed off the figure, saying that he couldn’t factor in “depreciation” off the top of his head for when, for instance, Blackwater loses armored cars or helicopters. Murphy said Prince’s plea of ignorance is “hard to believe.”
Prince’s reply? “I’m not a financially driven guy.” He did, however, offer that, last year, his salary was in the ballpark of $1 million.
