Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, said they gave about $3 million to charity in 2014, but more than half of that money appears to have gone to the family's own charitable organization, the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
In 2014, the Clintons took in more than $28 million and claimed about $3 million in income as charitable tax deductions, according to tax returns released by Hillary's presidential campaign last Friday, as reported by Politico.
The campaign made sure to emphasize that Hillary's charitable givings "represented 10.8 percent" of her total income in 2014, however, more than half of that money - $1.8 million - was sent to the Clinton Foundation.
Hillary's tax returns show that the family gave $3 million in 2014 to the Clinton Family Foundation, a private foundation used to channel money to other charities, also doubling as a vehicle to promote the family's public profile and political ambitions. The Clinton Family Foundation disbursed $3.7 million in 2014, including $1.8 million to the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
In all, since 2007, Hillary and Bill made $139 million and gave $14.9 million to charity, but the couple donated all but $200,000 of its gifts to the Clinton Family Foundation, according to the WSJ.
The family's charitable contribution to itself was by far the largest it made in 2014. Other donations were made to smaller groups: the University of Arkansas, the American Ireland Fund, and the American Friends of the Peres Center, according to the Beacon.
The Clintons are not directly paid by the Clinton Foundation, but they do spend an outsized portion of its money on travel and other expenses for the whole family, notes the WSJ. Many of their longtime aides, such as Sidney Blumenthal, have also been on its payroll.
The foundation's unusual structure and "atypical business model" reportedly prompted the group Charity Navigator to add the foundation to its "Watch List" earlier this year. The Better Business Bureau is also reviewing the foundation after it failed to meet transparency standards, according to the Beacon.
Hillary has paid more in taxes since 2007 - $57.5 million - than Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has earned during his entire career going back to 1981, Vox reported.
In her bid for the White House, Hillary has framed herself as a champion of everyday Americans, but these new revelations are likely to bolster critics' claims that she is actually a wealthy elitist out of touch with average Americans.
One group, Americans for Tax Reform, has already come out and criticized Hillary for being hypocritical when it comes to taxes. The group said that Hillary formed an "Article 4 trust" to seemingly avoid paying estate taxes, but pointed out that she has long supported that so-called Death Tax.
"Clinton has consistently voted for the Death Tax throughout her time in public office and forcefully condemned attempts to lower it," ATF said in a statement. "But when it comes to her own finances, it is a different story. The newly released tax returns buttress earlier reports outlining the ways Clinton uses financial planning strategies that shield her Death Tax liability."
