Bill Clinton yesterday released a list of all donors who have given to his private foundation since his wife was made secretary of state — a crew of deep-pocketed benefactors that includes Elton John, foreign countries and soft-drink giant Coca-Cola.
Noticeably absent from the list of 2009 donors to the William J. Clinton Foundation are several Middle Eastern nations such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, whose previous donations totaling tens of millions of dollars raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest with Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.
Under an agreement reached with President Obama, the former president agreed to disclose his donors and the White House has the right to review whether there are potential conflicts with his wife’s work.
Norway was cited in the 2009 list for contributing between $10 million and $25 million since the foundation’s beginning, while Oman gave $1 million to $5 million in the same time period. Clinton’s foundation, which focuses on issues such as health care, climate change and economic development, did not disclose how much each donor gave in the past year, instead revealing just a range of money that’s been donated since the foundation was established over a decade ago.
Bill and Melinda Gates — longtime top donors to the charity — continued their largesse last year, as did Clinton pal Frank Giustra, a Canadian mining tycoon. Their relationship raised eyebrows in 2005 when Giustra flew to Kazakhstan with the ex-prez, met with the country’s leader, and was then awarded a lucrative contract to mine uranium there.
Clinton has said publicly that he did nothing to help his pal land the contract.
Gates, Giustra and UNITAID, an international aid organization controlled largely by France that also donated in 2009, have each donated more than $25 million through the years, making them some of the foundation’s most generous benefactors.
Other high-profile donations came from the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which gave between $5 million and $10 million, as well as Donald Trump, and Saudi businessman Nasser Al-Rashid, who gave at least $1 million. Coca-Cola, which voluntarily agreed to stop serving soft drinks in schools in a deal brokered in part by Clinton’s foundation, has chipped in between $1 million and $5 million since the foundation began.
The Michael R. Bloomberg Foundation pitched in between $500,000 and $1 million.
One surprising foundation benefactor is Christopher Ruddy, a conservative journalist who once published speculation there was a coverup in the death of Clinton White House counsel Vincent Foster. Ruddy, who has said he now considers the former president a friend, donated more than $100,000.
Disgraced Democratic fundraiser Hassan Nemazee is also on the list for giving $50,000 to $100,000. Last August, he was accused of scamming $74 million in loans from Citibank. Many Democratic politicians have pledged to return money from Nemazee, but it is not clear if this cash was returned.
The disclosure of the 2009 donors is the second time Clinton’s foundation released a list of where they get their money.
The ex-president initially resisted ever releasing the identities of his benefactors, but caved under pressure when his wife was nominated for secretary of state.