The Political Insider

Andrew Kerr on November 19, 2019

The Clinton Foundation’s revenue dropped to a 16-year low in 2018 and reported a third-straight year of losses, a trend that began in 2016 when Hillary Clinton was defeated by President Donald Trump.

The Clinton Foundation reported $30.7 million in revenues in its recently-released 2018 Form 990 tax return, the lowest figure posted by the charity since 2002 when it raised $25.6 million.

The foundation’s 2018 revenue was just 12% of the $249 million it raised in 2009, the first year of Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state under former President Barack Obama.

The Clinton Foundation also posted its third straight year of losses of $16 million or more in 2018, bringing its total losses since 2016 to $49.6 million.

Speaking fees received by the Clinton Foundation have also dropped precipitously. The charity reported receiving $370,000 in speaking fees in 2018, just over 10% of the $3.6 million it received in 2014, Open Secrets reported.

Former Clinton Foundation President Donna Shalala told The New York Times in 2017 that the pay-to-play accusations surrounding the charity that dogged Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign played a significant factor in the charity’s dwindling revenue stream.

“Last year was a tough year,” said Shalala, who currently represents Florida’s 27th congressional district as a Democrat, “because people were beating on us with nonsense.”

In January 2018, reports surfaced of an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation to determine whether or not it engaged in illegal activities while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state surfaced.

The probe into the Clinton Foundation, led by U.S. Attorney John Huber, remains ongoing.

The Clinton Foundation did not return a request for comment.