7 ms·
People like e.g. Bjarne Stroustroup or Linus Torvalds are also paid 6-figure speaking fees depending on the venue, and they're far less-known names than Yellen
by HotHotLava 6y ago
People like e.g. Bjarne Stroustroup or Linus Torvalds are also paid 6-figure speaking fees depending on the venue, and they're far less-known names than Yellen or Clinton. And not because tech conferences are trying to bribe or corrupt their speakers (i hope), but because having a big name really drives attendance.
It probably sometimes happens that speaking fees are paid as a bribe, but that's illegal and also not specific to speaking fees (similar popular schemes are to hire the person as consultant, or to buy something from him for a much higher price than the real value). It also raises the same red flags, when it turns out that the speaking fees were far above market value.
Unless that was the case here (I don't know how much other speakers are paid at Citadel), it seems premature to assume nefarious behavior.
- pfortuny 6y agoYep, but then they are not supporting (say) Microsoft when asked about it, if Microsoft is who pays.
- totalZero 6y ago> Bjarne Stroustroup or Linus Torvalds are also paid 6-figure speaking fees Can you give some examples?
- ModernMech 6y agoI don't know anything about Stroustroup or Torvalds, but Wozniak wanted $80k to talk to my computing group at CMU back in the day. That's definitely 6 figures now.
- 93po 6y agoLinus is also not making $10 million a year in speaking fees from industries that he vastly enriched while operating as an elected public servant.
- Person5478 6y agoI understand and agree with your point, but I think the word enriched is too ambiguous here. He definitely enriched the software industry, just not monetarily.