Bill Clinton made nearly $18M off ‘honorary’ role: report

Former President Bill Clinton pocketed $17.6 million working as a consultant and “honorary chancellor” for a for-profit college, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Clinton was affiliated with Laureate International Universities from 2010 to 2015, breaking ties when his wife Hillary Clinton launched her presidential campaign.

Hillary Clinton invited Laureate to a private State Department dinner on higher education policy in August 2009, according to the report.

Clinton, then the secretary of State, described Laureate as the “fastest growing college network in the world” in an email to her chief of staff released last year. She called businessman Doug Becker, who founded Laureate, someone who “Bill likes a lot.” Laureate hired the former president nine months later.

“[Bill Clinton] engaged with students at Laureate’s campuses worldwide and advised Laureate’s leadership on social responsibility and increasing access to higher education,” Angel Urena, a spokesman for the former president, told the Post.

“[Clinton] was paid to advise Laureate, inspire students and visit the campuses and communities they serve, and that’s what he did, with great conviction and energy,” added a spokesman for Laureate.

Laureate was Clinton’s highest-paying client, but he also signed contracts with other organizations, the Post reported.

He worked with GEMS Education, a secondary-education chain based in Dubai, and Shangri-La Industries and Wasserman Investment, two companies run by long-time Democratic donors.

Clinton ultimately earned $65.4 million from consulting, speaking and writing fees during Hillary Clinton’s four years as secretary of State.

Laureate has given between $1 and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to the charitable organization’s website.

Laureate has also made millions of dollars in charitable contributions through the Clinton Global Initiative, an arm of the foundation that arranged for corporations to make public pledges for their own philanthropic projects.

Becker donated $2,700 last year to Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid after previously contributing to her unsuccessful bid in 2008.

Donald Trump, the GOP’s presidential nominee, has repeatedly accused the Clintons of “pay-to-play” politics with their family’s charitable organization.

Clinton on Monday vowed she did not let the Clinton Foundation influence her decisions at State.

“I don’t think there are conflicts of interest,” she said in an ABC News interview. “I know that’s what’s been alleged and never proven. But nevertheless, I take it seriously.”