London, Oct 29 : Former British premier Tony Blair, who is said to be the highest paid speaker in the world, is learnt to have amassed a wealth of 12 million pounds over the past one year since vacating 10 Downing Street.

This is more than six times of the income he earned during his prime ministership.

Such is the demand of Blair that he has a two-year waiting list for bookings, with clients prepared to pay 250,000 dollars for a typical speech of roughly 90 minutes. The ex-PM works exclusively through the blue-chip Washington Speakers Bureau.

Blair tours mainly include speaking to audiences including investment banks, private equity firms and chambers of commerce. Since launching himself on the speaking circuit last October, Blair is understood to have earned more from speeches than Bill Clinton, the former US President, did in his first year after leaving the White House.

As the stock market plummeted and the housing market slumped, the man who as Prime Minister championed the “light-touch” system of financial regulation blamed by some for the current crisis is enjoying an unprecedented boom of his own.

Blair receives 84,000 pounds of taxpayers’ money to run a private office and is entitled to an annual pension of 63,468 pounds, but this pales to insignificance beside his private earnings. He has made 4.6 million pounds from his memoirs, an estimated 2 million pounds from JPMorgan Chase — including bonus — and 500,000 pounds from Zurich Financial Services.

Besides, he has exceeded the 5.8 million pounds that Clinton earned, according to his wife Hillary’s financial disclosures, from speeches in his first year outside the White House. (ANI)