Talk’s Not Cheap: Bush Reportedly Getting $100,000

Last year, former President George Bush probably made the equivalent of a speech a day and received $200,000 in salary for his efforts.

Today, Bush is to receive half that amount--$100,000--for a single speech to a convention of Amway distributors in Atlanta, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution.

Bush’s reported fee--his office and Amway representatives declined to comment--appears to set something of a record for former presidents in the largest-fee-for-a-single-speech category.

Former President Ronald Reagan received about $2 million from Fuhisankei Corp. for his trip to Japan in October, 1989, but he delivered two 20-minute speeches and made other appearances during his weeklong visit.

Pete Zeph, an account executive at Capital Speakers Inc., said he did not know of another fee that large for a single speech.

“There’s been a few people--say, sports celebrities--that may get $100,000, but it’s for four speeches and showing up at a sports-type clinic,” he said. “It’s more than just a speech.”

In contrast, he said, the going rate for Reagan is about $60,000 a speech, about the same as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Real estate developer Donald Trump gets about $50,000 and television reporter Sam Donaldson $30,000, Zeph said. Former First Lady Barbara Bush takes in between $40,000 and $60,000.

Former Vice President Dan Quayle is getting $12,500 for a speech at Old Dominion University in April.

Of Bush’s fee, Zeph said: “You might think it cheapens his title ... but why not, if he has something valuable to say? It’s supply and demand.”