Since he left office, Giuliani has leveraged his image as "America's mayor" to his decided financial advantage and in ways that belie his man-of-the-people persona.
He commands $100,000 for a speech, not including expenses, which his star-struck clients are happily willing to pay. In one speech last year at Oklahoma State University, Giuliani requested and received travel on a private Gulfstream jet that cost the school $47,000 to operate. His visit essentially wiped out the student speakers annual fund.
Like other high-priced speakers in the private sector, Giuliani routinely travels in style. Besides the Gulfstream, which is a standard perk on the big-time speakers' circuit, his contract with Oklahoma State called for up to five hotel rooms for his entourage, including his own two-bedroom suite with a preferred balcony view and king-size bed, in the event of an overnight stay. But he did not stay overnight.
The contract also required a sedan and an SUV, restrictions on news coverage and control over whom Giuliani would meet, how he would be photographed and what questions he might be asked.
In another speech, at a charity fundraiser in South Carolina in February 2005, Giuliani also commanded a $100,000 fee, though he donated $20,000 of it to the event. After he was criticized by a local official, he ultimately decided to donate an additional $60,000.
Giuliani reportedly received more than $200,000 for another speech, given to benefit an Australian research hospital in 2003. When it was disclosed two years later that the hospital netted only $15,000, the revelation sparked widespread criticism in Australia. Months later, after the New York Observer picked up the story, Giuliani threw his own fundraiser for the hospital.
I missed the part where somebody put a gun to OSU's head and demanded that they bring in Giuliani as a speaker. My college never had anybody of his stature, and I had a SCOTUS Justice in my class. Giuliani is not cashing in on 9/11. The speeches he gives are based on his book "Leadership," which has almost nothing to do with 9/11.
Interesting information. I've long speculated that Giuliani has never had any intention of running for the White House -- because being a "prospective candidate" has been far more lucrative for him than a "former candidate" or "actual candidate" would be.