Follow The Money

According to a report of HuffPost, Larry Summers, chief economic advisor to Obama, received over a million dollars in speaking fees from many of the same corporations who have received bailout funds. Man, he must be some impressive speaker!

Barack Obama's chief economic adviser, Larry Summers, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees last year from firms that have direct financial interests before the government or are intimately involved in the White House's bank relief programs.

Among the firms that paid Summers large amounts in speaking fees include J.P. Morgan Chase. That bank offered the former Harvard president and Treasury Secretary $67,500 for a February 1, 2008 engagement. It has received $25 billion in government bailout funds.

Citigroup, which has received $50 billion in taxpayer help, paid Summers $45,000 for a speech in March 2008 and another $54,000 for a speech that May.

Goldman Sachs, which has received $10 million in bailout funds, paid Summers $135,000 for a speech on April 16, 2008 and another $67,500 for a speech on June 18, 2008.

Summers also received about $5.2 million over the past year in salary from the major hedge fund D.E. Shaw.

And here is a more complete list of bribes, er, payments for speechs:

Skagen Funds, $60,300, (1/9/2008)
Skagen Funds, $60,300, (1/10/2008)
Skagen Funds, $59,400, (1/11/2008)
JP Morgan, $67,500, (2/1/2008)
Itinera Institute, $62,876 (1/8/2008)
Citigroup, $45,000 (3/3/2008)
Goldman Sachs Co., $135,000, (4/16/2008)
Associon de Bancos de Mexico, $90,000, (4/3/2008)
Lehman Brothers, $67,500, (4/17/2008)
State Street Corporation, $45,000, (4/18/2008)
Siguler Guff & Company, $67,500, (5/7/2008)
Hudson Institute, $10,000, (05/28/2008)
Citigroup, $54,000, (5/30/2008)
Investec Bank, $157,500, (6/13/2008)
Goldman Sachs, $67,500, (6/18/2008)
Lehman Brothers, $67,500, (7/30/2008)
Tata Consultance Services, $67,500, (9/21/2008)
State Street Corporation, $112,500, (10/2/2008)
McKinsey and Company, $135,000, (10/19/2008)
Charles River Ventures LLC, $67,500, (11/112008)
Pricewaterhouse Coopers, $67,500 (9/9/2008)
American Chamber of Commerce In Argentina, $135,000 (10/7/2008)
American Express, $67,500 (5/7/2008)

Any other questions? Yes, in fact, I do have one. Who was it that said, 'Follow the money?'

Oh, and also, how much did Geithner and Bernanke get paid for speeches to Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and the like?