Ex-Chief of the Fed Cashes In on $250,000 Speaking Fees

Published in Figaro
(France) on 8 March 2014
by Charles Gautier (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Michael Krimian. Edited by Lydia Dallett.
Is Ben Bernanke, chief fire fighter during the last financial meltdown, in need of cash? Just three weeks after his departure from the presidency of the hegemonic Fed, the American Federal Reserve that sets monetary policy in the U.S., Ben Bernanke gave his first lecture in Abu Dhabi. His appearance lasted 40 minutes and was remunerated $250,000, which is more than his last annual salary in Washington.

More Optimistic

The man, sometimes called the most powerful being on the planet, only earned $199,700 in 2013 to fight back the meltdown of the world finance system. In Abu Dhabi, the attendees, who had paid two thousand dollars for this apparition, were given both an explanation of the strategy used by the Fed when it faced the 2007-2009 crisis and were the exclusive beneficiaries of his financial forecast. According to the ex-Fed chief, U.S. growth will increase to 3 percent in 2014, a version timidly more optimistic than the IMF’s (2.8 percent). In his speech, Bernanke also observed that the first thing he learned on the job was that the United States ... is not invulnerable to crises.

In terms of speakers’ fees, Bill Clinton remains the master. According to experts, he would have made two or three times Bernanke’s envelop for appearances these past few years.

Bernanke’s predecessor Alan Greenspan, meanwhile, pocketed $266,000 for a dinner in 2006 at ... Lehman Brothers, two years before the bank’s collapse. He sold the rights of his first book for $8 million. How much for the one Ben Bernanke already has in the works?


L'ex-patron de la Fed monnaie ses conférences 250.000 dollars


Ben Bernanke vient de donner à Abou Dhabi sa première conférence. Montant de son cachet: 250.000 dollars (180.000 euros) pour 40 minutes, soit un chèque plus élevé que son dernier salaire annuel à Washington.



Pompier en chef de la dernière crise financière, Ben Bernanke serait-il en panne de liquidités? Trois semaines après son départ de la présidence de la toute-puissante Fed, la Réserve fédérale américaine qui dirige la politique monétaire des États-Unis, Ben Bernanke vient de donner à Abou Dhabi sa première conférence. Montant de son cachet: 250.000 dollars (180.000 euros) pour 40 minutes, soit un chèque plus élevé que son dernier salaire annuel à Washington.
Plus optimiste
L'homme, parfois qualifié de plus puissant de la planète, n'a gagné en 2013 que 199.700 dollars pour lutter contre l'effondrement du système financier mondial. À Abou Dhabi, les auditeurs, qui ont payé deux mille dollars pour cette apparition, ont d'une part décodé la réplique de la Fed à la crise financière de 2007-2009 et d'autre part bénéficié en ­exclusivité de ses prévisions de croissance. ­Selon l'ex-patron de la Fed, elle accélérera aux États-Unis pour atteindre le niveau enviable de 3 % en 2014. Soit une vision un brin plus optimiste que le FMI (2,8 %). Dans son intervention, Bernanke a aussi confié que la première chose qu'ont apprise les États-Unis est… qu'ils ne sont pas invulnérables aux crises.
En matière de conférences, Bill Clinton reste le maître. Selon les experts, il aurait empoché deux ou trois fois l'enveloppe de Bernanke lors de quelques apparitions ces dernières années.
Prédécesseur de Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, quant à lui, avait empoché 266.000 dollars pour un dîner en 2006 chez… Lehman Brothers, deux ans avant l'effondrement de la banque. Il eut droit à 8 millions de dollars pour son premier livre. Combien pour celui déjà en préparation de Ben Bernanke?
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