A $20 million payday for Bill Clinton? 
An effort to sever ties with a politically precarious relationship with an investment firm could prove quite lucrative for Bill Clinton as he seeks to shield his wife's campaign from attacks that her family's financial interests conflict with the needs of the country.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Clinton is planning to end his business relationship with billionaire Ron Burkle, a close friend and prominent Democratic donor. Ending his relationship with Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. could result in a $20 million payday for the former president.
Burkle reportedly sought a pardon from Clinton for a close friend in 2000, and has hosted fundraisers for Hillary Clinton and other Democrats at his lavish Beverly Hills mansion.
Questions arose over Bill Clinton's relationship with Burkle's firm because of Yucaipa's connections in foreign countries such as China and Dubai.
Excerpts from the Journal:
Mr. Clinton is also looking to close out partnership interests in a Yucaipa fund that focuses on investing in foreign companies. This fund -- called Yucaipa Global Partnership Fund LP -- has raised several hundred million dollars from a range of investors. Unlike his deal to advise the two Yucaipa domestic funds, Mr. Clinton invested an undisclosed sum of his own money in the global fund and has a limited partnership interest.
Mr. Clinton is also one of three owners of the global fund's general partner. The others are Mr. Burkle, who is the managing member, and an entity connected to the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
Severing the tie to Dubai, a U.S. ally, will remove a potentially tricky problem for Mrs. Clinton. Questions raised about the activities of sovereign wealth funds -- giant pools of money controlled by foreign governments -- have become a campaign issue, as the funds have made a spate of multibillion-dollar investments in such corporate giants as Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mrs. Clinton said such purchases are "a source of concern," partly because the foreign funds "lack transparency" and could be used by foreign governments as "instruments of foreign policy."
[...]
Asked about the unwinding of the Yucaipa relationship, a spokesman for Mr. Clinton said the former president "is taking steps to ensure" that there will be "an appropriate transition" for the business relationship should Mrs. Clinton win the Democratic presidential nomination.
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