Hillary used to tout her husband's globetrotting credentials as an asset to her presidential campaign. But now that she's being vetted for Secretary of State, Bill's financial and philanthropic entanglements abroad could prove to be more of a liability. Here's a breakdown of where Bill's money has been coming from:
--The Speaking Tours: Bill's lucrative round-the-world speaking tours have taken him to Kuwait City (where he was paid $500,000 by the National Bank of Kuwait); Saudi Arabia (where the Dabbagh investment firm handed over $600,000 for two speeches); and China ($200,000 from the JingJi Real Estate Development Group)--all regimes with spotty human rights records, some of which Hillary has already criticized.
--The Presidential Library: The Saudi royal family, the deputy prime minister of Lebanon, and the governments of Dubai, Kuwait, and Qatar are among the 57 donors who have reportedly given at least $1 million to the library. Bill has yet to disclose the names of the donors himself and will be under increasing pressure to do so if Hillary is headed to State.
--The Investment Firm: Bill has collected at least $12.6 million since 2002 from Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies, which has invested for the Dubai government and has a stake in a Chinese media company. Bill has served as an adviser to the firm and a partner in its overseas investment fund. He began trying to distance himself from the firm last year to avoid compromising Hillary's presidential run, vowing to take steps to ensure "there will be an appropriate transition from those relationships" if his wife were the nominee.
--The Foundation: Bill is not required by law to disclose the donors to the Clinton Global Initiative. But independent investigations have revealed that it has received money from the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates, and the governments of Kuwait and Qatar. Having raised over $30 billion to fund projects in more than 150 countries, the Clinton Foundation could spawn innumerable conflicts of interest if Bill continues to fundraise in countries where Hillary is on a diplomatic mission. (The foundation has arranged matching funds with several foreign governments.)
Past episodes have already brought some of the Clintons' conflicts of interest to light:
--Kazakhstan: In 2005, Bill expressed public support for Kazakhstan's authoritarian president, undercutting Hillary's vocal criticism of the regime's human rights record. Two days later, Canadian mining executive Frank Giustra won the right to buy into three uranium projects controlled by the Kazakh government. Shortly afterward, Giustra's foundation gave $31.3 million to the Clinton Foundation.
--Dubai World Ports: In 2006, Bill tried to advise Dubai World Ports in its bid to win the rights to run ports in the U.S. He pushed for the company to allow for an intensive investigation--a position supported by the White House--at the same time that Hillary was trying to derail the deal.
--Suzy Khimm