Since leaving Downing Street in June 2007, Tony Blair has enriched himself more than any other former prime minister in history, thanks to "an extraordinary confusion of public duty and private interest", says The Daily Telegraph. International statesman; guardian of Africa; religious leader; global businessman... as he jets around the world, it's hard to see where one role begins and another ends. He's a master at combining a diplomatic mission in the morning with a private, never mentioned, business deal in the afternoon.
Estimates of how much Blair has earned over four lucrative years vary widely (see below). But his "shady millions" are increasingly under the spotlight, says The Daily Beast. A Channel 4 Dispatches documentary this week investigated the tangled webs he has been weaving as peace envoy for the Quartet (the US, Russia, EU and UN) in the Middle East.
Even his bodyguards are under scrutiny. Reports describe how "dark-suited men who appeared to be protection officers" were observed at a swanky New York restaurant tasting food before it made its way to Blair an image "more fitting for a paranoid king than a British statesman".
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Combining these myriad, conflicting personas requires skill, dexterity and sound organisation, says The Sunday Telegraph. No wonder Blair's "Byzantine web of highly specialised limited partnerships" and parallel firms is "baffling in its structure". As well as countless speaking engagements and jobs advising JP Morgan, Zurich Financial Services and Louis Vuitton, his offices in Grosvenor Square are kept busy running a consultancy (Tony Blair Associates), two major international charities (the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation) and his diplomatic work.
In the Dispatches investigation, Peter Oborne observes that "much remains mysterious about Mr Blair's repeated visits to Tripoli over the past few years". Was Blair in Libya in 2008 to discuss Middle East peace with Gaddafi? Or was he sounding out deals for JP Morgan with the multi-billion Libyan Investment Authority as a well-placed source suggests? Both Blair and JP Morgan have denied any conflict of interest. They claim similar allegations about the former PM's dealings in Palestine are equally "defamatory". Blair maintains that he negotiated two major deals there (involving the telco Wataniya and British energy firm BG Group) at the behest of the Palestinian authorities. Both, it turns out, are also clients of JP Morgan. Blair says he was unaware of the connection.
Making money isn't a crime. But if Blair represented the UK government, the EU, the UN or IMF, he would have to declare his financial interests. Since he doesn't, as one senior French diplomat concludes, Tony Blair "makes his own rules".
How much is he worth?
There is some reason to be sceptical about Tony Blair's claim that he is worth "considerably less" than £20m, says Peter Oborne in The Daily Telegraph. The Blairs' property portfolio alone is worth more than £14m; he's raked in a reported £9m or more from speeches; and his advisory roles with JP Morgan et al look to have netted at least £8m to date. The big cash is earned by his consulting group, Tony Blair Associates (TBA). A single contract to advise Kuwait's rulers was reportedly worth a bumper £27m (Blair's office disputes this figure).
What's wrong with a former PM trying to make money? asks Dominic Lawson in The Independent. Blair certainly isn't the first. John Major has had a paid advisory role with the Carlyle private equity group for years, and no one makes a fuss probably because "Major is not a man about whom the British public has very strong feelings". The same cannot be said for Tony Blair. "The word hate' does not do justice to the violence of the gibbering rage" felt by some of the population. "Blair Derangement Syndrome" is an extension of the current mood of revulsion against politics in general. Having been the most popular politician of the era, Blair "must therefore become the most irrationally hated, once the infatuation has worn off".
Taking aim at the Blairs' peculiarly penny-pinching "billionaire lifestyle" has become a national sport: witness the tabloid frenzy when they charged their son Leo's school friends £10 each to cover the travel costs of a party at their Buckinghamshire pile. And there's no doubt Blair has made progress in the Middle East, says Oborne. But by mingling his private commercial interests with his public duty, he risks squandering a priceless opportunity. "No one could expect one man to bring peace to Palestine. Blair's mission is all but impossible. But given that his job is so hard it's vital that he's seen as an honest broker."
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