Who wants to be a Tony Blair?


Remember Tony Blair? Whatever happened to him?

Well, it seems he turned his back on politics and, in 2 short years, became a multi-millionaire.

His income since handing over the levers of power is estimated to be well north of 10 million quid. Nice.

The Guardian thinks it's all a bit fishy, and are trying to 'crowd-source' more information on his oddly-gotten gains. They call his financial affairs 'Byzantine' and 'Opaque'


Hmmm, there's a certain irony when a newspaper that used numerous loopholes to avoid paying tax on 300 million profit calls someone elses affairs dodgy, eh?

But lets just putthat to one side, shall we?

Let's look at the boy Blair. How did he make those millions? Unlike the Guardian, CF thinks its pretty fucking clear.

He spent his time as Prime Minister schmoozing, snake-oiling, lying and misleading. He then makes millions for writing a fucking book describing how he did it. There's a few bob for Tony's pockets.

He did whatever Dubya Bush told him to, at a time when Bush, even though he didn't know where the Middle East was, was pretty sure he wanted to bomb large parts of it.

By joining in enthusiastically with the bombing and the shooting, Blair somehow became a self-professed expert on the Middle East. Which led to all sort of exciting and lucrative jetting to Kuwait and the UAE. There's a heap of fucking money.

Because of Blair's unceasing worship at the temple of George W., many Americans just lurve Tone, and hang on his every syllable. So much so that Washington Speakers Bureau snapped him up as a star speaker with a £600,000 'signing-on' fee. And that's before he even opens his mouth. Every time he deigns to speak to starry eyed yankees, tens of thousands more cascade into this coffers. There's some more income.

He - or rather his missus - got some dodgy Australian conman to help them start on the property investment ladder. In spite of the outcry when this was discovered, the Blairs kept the properties.
Which were then rose massively in price owing to the gigantic housing bubble Blair and Brown were busily inflating. There's a load more wealth.

And in another massive irony, and another massive cash-grab, tax experts point out to the Guardian that:

"..Blair could use these unusual arrangements at some point in the future to seek to transfer millions tax-free to his four children. .. Family limited partnerships" were being publicized to lawyers and accountants in November 2007 at the time Blair's lawyers started to set up his structures.

"Known in the trade as "Flips", family limited partnerships are a way of getting round stricter inheritance tax rules in the 2006 budget, imposed by Gordon Brown while Blair was still prime minister."

So he'll be able to pass all of this on to his kiddies without bothering the taxman, and without helping to repay a penny of the billions he and his cronies have cost us.

And people say Bankers are overpaid?

For fuck's sake.
_

9 comments:

Jill said...

Nobody lurves you today, not even Julia M! Where is Captain? Is he alright?

Fancy making all that money from killing a million people.

Anonymous said...

Champagne Socialism at its best. Some are always more equal than others.

How about an ongoing expose to include John inbred Prescott, the thieving Kinnocks etc.

You eneter the Labour party - and trade unions for that matter - shouting about how the poor need more - you leave union leadership and the Labour party as a millionaire. Bastards.

Anonymous said...

Labour = lying thieving greedy hypocritical bastards.

AndrewSouthLondon said...

Tony is now "in the free market" - he is selling and there are those who are willing to pay. Nothing wrong with that, just a shame he did not acknowledge it while prime minister.

He is not trousering expenses or millions paid out of taxation, or dodgy charity funding via government departments.
He is now Blair the Capitalist, selling brand Blair. And those who believe in Capitalism should applaud his somewhat late conversion to the free market. Make something people want, "create value" and the market will price it. Pure Adam Smith.

I wonder if he sees it that way?

Anonymous said...

Mr Blair isn't quite wholly in the free market yet. He does still get a taxpayer funded office, staff and security. Probably has a publicly funded pension somewhere in the mix too.

Saying that though if he wants to rub shoulders with oil sheikhs at a million quid a pop in return for advising them on 'good governance' then that's up to them. After all, if they are willing to pay players at Man City £150k per week it's hardly like they don't have money to piss away.

I have no problem with Tony Blair becoming fabulously wealthy, he needs to have some legacy to leave his children - after all he has no positive political legacy to talk of. Him and Brown will go down as two of the worst PM's in history.

Anonymous said...

"Him and Brown will go down as two of the worst PM's in history."

Yep, there'll be one word next to Blair in the history books: Iraq.

Weekend Yachtsman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Weekend Yachtsman said...

The Guardian thinks this is a bit fishy?

Is this the same Guardian that shelters its profits in a trust to avoid paying tax?

Yes, I guess it is.

Can you say hypocrite?

banned said...

The Guardian makes a profit ?
Like others I have no problem with the Blairs making money in the open market from fools willing to listen to either of them gobbing off but I would like to know where the ghastly Kinnocks got their money from and likewise the evil Lord Protector Mandelson.