Incoming U.S. Finance Secretary Janet Yellen has been paid at least $ 7m (£ 5.1m) for speaking duties at banks, consultations and government-regulated hedge funds over the past two years, according to newly published documents.
The former chairman of the Federal Reserve unveiled a list of more than 50 paid talk events for financial companies that included $ 67,500 from Goldman Sachs, $ 54,000 from an event at Barclays and $ 292,500 from one speech for hedge fund Citadel.
The documents were submitted to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics as part of Yellen’s efforts to gain the top position at the U.S. Treasury Department. While she has already been selected for the post by the president, Joe Biden, she still needs to get formal approval from the U.S. Senate.
The films showed that Yellen also earned $ 112,500 from one talking contact with UBS, $ 225,000 from a speech for PwC and $ 270,000 from an event with London headquarters bank Standard Chartered.
It is common for high-profile government officials such as Yellen to take up paid speaking positions after his retirement. Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve before Yellen, reportedly earned about $ 250,000 for one speech after leaving the central bank, where he earned $ 199,700 a year.
However, Yellen – who earned just over $ 200,000 a year when she was head of the US Fed between 2014 and 2018 – said she would get official approval before taking part in decisions about any companies that had paid her taxes once she has been formally appointed to the Treasury.
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Yellen also promised to retire from Australian investment firm Magellan Financial Group, from which she earned $ 125,000 as an advisor and approximately $ 225,000 in speaking fees. She promised to provide funding to 13 companies, including telecommunications giant AT&T, pharmaceutical company Pfizer and chemical company Dupont to avoid any conflicts of interest.
Similar films from current Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, former chief executive of Goldman Sachs and Hollywood film treasurer, before his inauguration in 2017, did not reveal any significant talk charges.
However, Mnuchin promised to invest at least $ 94m worth of investments in 43 companies once he was named to Donald Trump’s cabinet. He was later criticized for failing to properly disclose his ownership for nearly $ 100m and maintained control with a Cayman Islands-based offshore business vehicle, a tax haven.