$20M Payday May Await Bill Clinton

Hoping to insulate his wife’s presidential campaign from potential conflicts of interest, Bill Clinton is negotiating to untangle himself from a business relationship with billionaire Ron Burkle that includes a potentially sensitive link to Dubai, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the process, Clinton could earn a $20 million payout.

Clinton was an adviser to Burkle’s company, Yucaipa, from 2002 to 2007. His substantial paycheck helped pay legal bills left over from his presidency. A profit-sharing provision in the deal kicked in when two domestic funds exceeded earnings thresholds recently, earning Clinton millions. He also wants out of Yucaipa Global Partnership Fund, in which he and Burkle are partners along with an entity linked to Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. (More Bill Clinton stories.)