Washington: Hoping to allay conflict-of-interest concerns as his wife prepares to become Secretary of State, former President Bill Clinton on Thursday released a donor list that shows he has raised as much as $131 million (Dh481 million) from foreign governments - including Middle East and Europe - for the William J. Clinton Foundation.
More than 200,000 patrons who have given nearly $500 million since the foundation's inception in 1997 were identified by name only. The disclosure provides a window into a charity that had closely guarded the identities of its donors - countries, companies and individuals with vital, sometimes less than altruistic, interests in US foreign policy.
Clinton's foundation has focused on providing health care, particularly for people with Aids in underdeveloped countries. It also works to promote economic growth in Africa and Latin America, combat global climate change and deal with such issues as childhood obesity in the United States.
Many of the top donors are staunch campaign supporters of Bill and Hillary Clinton. They include Los Angeles entertainment mogul Haim Saban, who is a strong backer of Israel, producer Stephen Bing and Chicago billionaire Fred Eychaner.
Foreign nationals
The foundation also took in millions from foreign nationals, domestic and foreign corporations and government entities that by law could not give to the Clintons' political campaigns.
The Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office and Brunei are among the high-rollers who have given between $1 million and $5 million.
When Barack Obama selected Hillary Clinton, the junior senator from New York, to be his Secretary of State, he made clear that the former president would have to disclose the foundation donors. In a statement issued late on Thursday, the president-elect said Clinton's disclosure "meets our goals of transparency and goes above and beyond in preventing conflicts".
The list contains several contributions from businesses and individuals who are either from India or have strong ties to that country.
Steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal gave between $1 million and $5 million; Suzlon Energy Ltd gave in a similar range; the Confederation of Indian Industry donated $500,000 to $1 million.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Embassy brushed aside any doubts about Hillary Clinton's ability to serve as an honest broker in the chronically tense relationship between his country and India, both of which are nuclear powers.
"It does not cause concern. This has to do with charity and not with politics," Nadeem Haider Kiani said.
The foundation's two biggest donors, at more than $25 million each, were the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (a London philanthropy started by hedge fund operator Chris Hohn) and UNITAID, an international drug purchase organisation formed by Brazil, France, Chile, Norway and Britain to combat Aids, malaria and other diseases in developing countries.
Aisaid, the Australian government agency responsible for managing Australia's overseas aid programme, donated between $10 million and $25 million, as did Saudi Arabia and a Dominican Republic government agency formed to fight Aids.
Individuals giving between $10 million and $25 million included Bing, Eychane, Lions Gate Entertainment founder Frank Giustra, Gateway Computer founder Theodore Waitt of San Diego and Paychex founder B. Thomas Golisano.
Authoritarian
Giustra is a Canadian mining businessman who in 2005 accompanied President Clinton on a trip to Kazakhstan. Giustra's company later signed deals for uranium projects in Kazakhstan, a country with an authoritarian government and a much criticised record on human rights.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also gave between $10 million and $25 million. Contribution between $5 million and $10 million were Saban, Norway and the Dutch Lottery.
Other million-dollar-plus donors include Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad, foundations established by billionaire George Soros and the Walton family (founders of Wal-Mart) and Victor Pinchuk, a wealthy Ukrainian steel tycoon and son-in-law to former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who was denounced by the State Department for "scandals, corruption and human-rights violations".
Blackwater Worldwide, which has the contract to protect State Department officials in Iraq, was listed as giving $10,001 to $25,000.
The disclosure also lists some donations given by corporations and individuals that since have fallen far: American International Group Inc, the insurance company that was bailed out in the Wall Street crisis, gave in the $250,001-$500,000 range.
San Diego trial attorney William Lerach, now in federal prison on kickback charges, gave between $100,001 and $250,000, as did the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers.
