Tony Blair paid by hedge fund that gave money to Conservatives

01-25-2010

Mr Blair will give private talks to Lansdowne Partners, a London-based fund which profited from the UK’s recent banking crisis.

He will give a series of speeches to executives from the firm, focusing on future trends in global politics.
The talks were arranged by the US agency that handles Mr Blair’s lucrative speaking engagements, typically charging more than £100,000 for a single speech.

Paul Ruddock, a co-founder of Lansdowne, has donated more than £250,000 to the Conservatives in recent years.

In 2008, the firm profited by betting that the prices of shares banks including HBOS and Barclays would fall. It is estimated that the firm made more than £12 million by short-selling British bank shares.

The firm said Mr Blair would provide its executives with “a macro view on geopolitics”.

A spokesman for Mr Blair confirmed he will speak to Lansdowne, but made clear he is not taking on any formal job with the firm

The spokesman said: “Mr Blair remains one of the most popular international speakers around. These talks for Lansdowne were organised by the Washington Speakers Bureau in the usual way. Mr Blair has not taken a job with Lansdowne Partners.”

Mr Blair has earned an estimated £14 million since leaving Downing Street in 2007. He has said the bulk of his time is actually spent on unpaid political and charity work.

As well as a £2 million-a-year advisory job with a US investment bank and a lucrative contract to write his memoirs, Mr Blair earns hundreds of thousands of pounds for paid speeches.

Last year, it was reported that he was paid nearly £400,000 for two 30-minute speeches during a 36-hour visit to the Philippines.

As well as his commercial work, Mr Blair runs several charitable foundations, advises several African governments on reform, and acts as an international envoy on the Palestinian economy