
Inventing Income 151
But former presidents have
other
income source s. You can be
on paid boards of
directors-a
s many that want you. Gerald Ford
was huge at doing these (as well as paid
speeches-it's
amazing how
someone who was voted
out
of office and no one much wanted to
hear as president is suddenly in demand after). You can be a paid
adviser with consulting contracts as Clinton did with billionaire
Ron Burkle (net worth $3.5
billionj
.r'
Hiring
a past president is
a thinly veiled attempt to pay for lobbying links.
No
one has better
connections than a past president.
Let
me summarize.
The
Clintons
went from being at least $3 million (and probably more) in the hole
in 2001 to being worth $35 million seven years later.
IF
YOU
CAN'T
BE
PRESIDENT
...
But few have the chops to run for president and win. Still, you
aren't precluded from a lifetime of invented political
income-
become a member of Congress! Starting pay is $169,300 a year (as
of 2008)
.24
Not
huge, but you're in America's 96th percentile while
building your real
wealth.i? And you don't need to do anything in
Congress.
Of
course, for bigger bucks you hustle .
Get
a leadership
role and income bumps to $183,500.
The
Speaker of the
House
collects $217,400.
26
Nice for Nancy Pelosi! (With a net worth of
$86 million,
Nanc
y's the ninth wealthiest House
mernberlj/
? Also,
they get an annual cost-of-living adjustment. And they receive
health benefits and a rich retirement plan that