U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been paid at least $ 7 million (£ 5.1 million) for commitments to government-regulated banks, consultancy and hedge funds over the past two years, according to recently revealed documents.
The former chairman of the Federal Reserve has revealed a list of more than 50 paid speech events for financial firms that included $ 67,500 from Goldman Sachs, $ 54,000 from a Barclays event and $ 292,500 from a one-time speech for the fund. Citadel cover.
The documents were presented to the US Office of Government Ethics as part of Yellen’s efforts to secure his top role in the US Treasury. Although she has already been elected to office by President-elect Joe Biden, she must still obtain formal approval from the US Senate.
Deposits showed Yellen also won $ 112,500 from a single speaking engagement with UBS, $ 225,000 from a PwC speech and $ 270,000 from a London-based Standard Chartered bank event.
It is common for high-profile government officials, such as Yellen, to take paid speaking roles after retirement. Ben Bernanke, who served as president of the US Federal Reserve before Yellen, reportedly earned about $ 250,000 for a single speech after leaving the central bank, where he earned $ 199,700 a year.
However, Yellen – who earned just over $ 200,000 a year when he led the US Fed between 2014 and 2018 – said he would get official permission before taking part in decisions involving any companies that paid him taxes once. which was officially appointed to the Treasury. .
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Yellen also promised to give up the Australian investment firm Magellan Financial Group, from which he earned $ 125,000 as a consultant and about $ 225,000 in speech fees. She has pledged to divest assets in 13 companies, including telecommunications giant AT&T, pharmaceutical company Pfizer and chemical company Dupont to avoid any conflict of interest.
Similar deposits by current Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive and financier of the Hollywood film, before his appointment in 2017 did not reveal significant speech fees.
However, Mnuchin has promised to sell investments worth at least $ 94 million to 43 companies once he is appointed to Donald Trump’s office. He was later criticized for failing to properly disclose nearly $ 100 million in real estate and driving a Cayman Islands-based offshore business vehicle, a tax haven.