That's not how it works, or at the very least, it's a lot less black and white than that. There are enough people who will pay money to get a picture with Bill

That's not how it works, or at the very least, it's a lot less black and white than that. There are enough people who will pay money to get a picture with Bill Clinton, or to hear Clinton speak, that it's completely worth it for an organization to spend a few hundred thousand dollars on his speaking fees. A number of years ago my Dad was involved with a healthcare non-profit organization that paid Bill Clinton $125,000 for a speech (I don't remember the exact figure). They had him speak at a big theater, where a couple thousand people paid $100+. Then they had him as the featured guest at a dinner, which cost donors thousands of dollars to attend. They also had him tour their organization with the media. So all told, the organization raised a few hundred thousand dollars and got a lot of publicity. Private sector companies - some big financial company or the National Association of Whatever - can get similar value from a Clinton speech. Maybe they can get money directly by selling tickets to a dinner with Clinton and having having him be the keynote speaker at their paid conference, or maybe they can use it as a reward/incentive for their clients (with the most important clients getting the most access to Clinton). [Edit: I looked up Clinton's fee, it was $125,000)