BUCK-RAKING

Clinton Cashes In on Speeches

Could be bad news for 2016.

Hillary Clinton is making so much money from speeches that both The New York Times and The Washington Post ran major stories on it the same day. Now that she’s done with the State Department, Clinton commands $200,000 per appearance on the “buckraking” circuit, and she’s taking advantage of it with nationwide speeches to various industry groups. Clinton has addressed HR professionals, real-estate developers, private-equity managers, and business executives; on the schedule this year are car dealers, travel agents, and real-estate brokers. Interest groups are eager to get the ear of someone who could become president, and the speeches are a major income source: Bill Clinton earned $17 million from similar ones last year. But it could lead to trouble for Hillary if she decides to run in 2016 against other candidates who are barred from speech-circuit buck-raking by ethics rules and could turn it into a weapon against her.