Tony Blair stands to earn more than $775,000 on a lecture tour of Australia and New Zealand. Picture: AP Source: AP
Blair, who became known in Britain as "Tony B. Liar," was not just a disaster, but a catastrophe in his time mismanaging the governance of Britain. Now he is passing on his alleged "wisdom" in lucrative lecture tours, using the money to fund things like his "Faith Foundation" and joining with Rick Warren to spread a false doctrine round the world. Christians: do not line this man's pockets! Everything he did in his time in office was profoundly anti-Christian, from promoting abortion and homosexuality to claiming Islam is a religion of peace, when this is manifestly untrue. AF.
FORMER British prime minister Tony Blair is expected to earn more than $775,000 on his first lecture tour of Australia and New Zealand this year.
Mr Blair, one of the best-paid speakers in the world, will visit Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland on a three-day tour in July.
The trip is being sponsored by Visy, which manufactures corrugated cardboard boxes.
Tickets for the events cost a minimum of $960, with a promise to hear Mr Blair's “unique insights” into “leadership, negotiation and innovation”.
Since leaving office in 2007, Mr Blair has amassed a personal fortune estimated at $45 million, helped by the lecture circuit and lucrative consultancies.
Some of the money has been used to fund Mr Blair's political and charitable empire, ranging from his faith foundation to pro bono work advising governments in Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
The former prime minister, who has accepted jobs with JP Morgan, Zurich Insurance and the Abu Dhabi investment fund Mubadala, is valued by firms for his expertise in the Middle East.
However, the uprisings there could reduce business opportunities as leaders and officials with whom he forged links as prime minister are weakened. Libya's Colonel Gadaffi was one of Mr Blair's key contacts in the region.
The Australian and New Zealand tour has been set up by Max Markson, a public relations agent who in 2005 organised a controversial charity tour for Cherie Blair. At one of the events, only 8.2 per cent of the proceeds went to the beneficiary, a children's cancer charity. Markson has said he expects Blair's July tour to be “less controversial”.
The VIP tickets for the Blair events include a “meet and greet” cocktail party and the opportunity for an individual photograph with the former premier.
The tour is expected to generate more than $2.3 million in ticket sales, and additional money from sponsorship, although so far fewer than half the tickets have been sold. Blair typically earns at least $150,000 for each paid speech.
Anthony Pratt, chairman of Visy, the packaging company sponsoring the tour, first met Mr Blair in 2006 and said they had a common interest in combating climate change.
The Sunday Times
