Green Arrow
11-20-2017, 11:58 PM
Via Politico (https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/20/azar-eli-lilly-millions-severance-hhs-251107):
President Donald Trump's pick for secretary of Health and Human Services collected nearly $2 million in compensation during his final year as president of drug giant Eli Lilly's U.S. operations, new public financial disclosures show.
Alex Azar, who left the company in January, also pocketed $1.6 million in severance connected to his departure — and more recently made as much as $1 million from his sale of Eli Lilly stock.
Those combined earnings don't include the more than $700,000 that Azar received in assorted payouts at the end of his tenure, ranging from compensation for unused vacation time to an employer match for his savings plan.
That represents a substantial slice of Azar's overall financial portfolio, which ranges in value from $9.5 million to more than $20 million, based on estimates in filings with the Office of Government Ethics. And it's likely to ratchet up scrutiny of Azar's ties to the drug industry ahead of confirmation hearings that begin later this month.
I have previously pointed out Azar's ties to UnitedHealth (http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/89795-Trump-leaning-toward-former-pharma-exec-for-health-secretary), his deputy Steven Parente's ties to UnitedHealth and gifts from Big Pharma (http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/90473-More-Cronyism-UnitedHealth-backed-HHS-Nominee), and Azar's practice of boosting drug prices while heading Eli Lilly (http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/91087-Trump-s-HHS-Sec-Boosted-Drug-Prices), and now there's this. There is now a clear pattern of blatant cronyism in our government. The seeds had been planted through the last few presidential administrations, and now in this administration the crony class is reaping their harvest.
President Donald Trump's pick for secretary of Health and Human Services collected nearly $2 million in compensation during his final year as president of drug giant Eli Lilly's U.S. operations, new public financial disclosures show.
Alex Azar, who left the company in January, also pocketed $1.6 million in severance connected to his departure — and more recently made as much as $1 million from his sale of Eli Lilly stock.
Those combined earnings don't include the more than $700,000 that Azar received in assorted payouts at the end of his tenure, ranging from compensation for unused vacation time to an employer match for his savings plan.
That represents a substantial slice of Azar's overall financial portfolio, which ranges in value from $9.5 million to more than $20 million, based on estimates in filings with the Office of Government Ethics. And it's likely to ratchet up scrutiny of Azar's ties to the drug industry ahead of confirmation hearings that begin later this month.
I have previously pointed out Azar's ties to UnitedHealth (http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/89795-Trump-leaning-toward-former-pharma-exec-for-health-secretary), his deputy Steven Parente's ties to UnitedHealth and gifts from Big Pharma (http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/90473-More-Cronyism-UnitedHealth-backed-HHS-Nominee), and Azar's practice of boosting drug prices while heading Eli Lilly (http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/91087-Trump-s-HHS-Sec-Boosted-Drug-Prices), and now there's this. There is now a clear pattern of blatant cronyism in our government. The seeds had been planted through the last few presidential administrations, and now in this administration the crony class is reaping their harvest.