What a joke. First banal stupid local Chinese should not give out the money, 2nd Blair ought to donate the income when he received
Tony Blair has been paid more than $500,000 (£237,000) for a 20-minute speech in China, suggesting he has overtaken Bill Clinton to become the world's most sought-after public speaker.
Britons might have tired of hearing from the former prime minister but in the southern Chinese industrial town of Dongguan his words appear to be worth their weight in gold.
Dongguan Guangda, a local property developer, this week paid Mr Blair a post-tax speaking fee of $330,000 and paid another $175,000 in tax on his behalf, according to the Guangdong Provincial Tax Bureau.
Mr Blair's lucrative speech to a group of about 600 Communist party officials, businessmen and investment bankers confirms he has shot into the super league of after-dinner speakers.
Mr Clinton, the former US president, was paid a mere $100,000 for a speaking engagement in nearby Hong Kong last year, according to his wife Hillary's financial disclosure statement. However, in 2002 he was reported to have earned $250,000 for a 30 minute speech in Shenzhen.
Rudolph Giuliani, the US presidential hopeful, has received no more than $100,000 for a single speaking engagement organised through the Washington Speakers Bureau this year.
Mr Blair has become a highly successful one-man industry since leaving Downing Street. Apart from public speaking, he is expected to receive up to £5m for his memoirs. His wife, Cherie, is also writing her personal story |
