Thompson Made Millions As Actor

Financial Disclosure Forms Show He Made Between $2.5 And $16M Since January 2006

(AP)  Fred Thompson has had a varied career as lawyer, politician and lobbyist, but it's his acting that has proven to be most lucrative.

The former Tennessee senator who became a regular on NBC's "Law & Order" playing a no-nonsense district attorney has made millions from television and movie roles.

A personal financial disclosure report that Thompson, a Republican presidential candidate, filed with the Federal Election Commission this week shows that he earned at least $2.5 million and as much as $16 million in residual payments and performance contracts between January 2006 and last month.

Presidential candidates must file the reports with the FEC and the Office of Government Ethics. Other candidates have submitted their reports, but Thompson only officially entered the race last month. The reports are not precise, requiring filers to reveal their assets and income in broad dollar ranges.

Thompson's report lists assets between $2.5 million and $8.5 million, including a Washington condominium and an investment account.

Besides the acting income, Thompson also reported working for London-based Equitas Inc., a firm set up by Lloyd's of London to help reinsure claims on certain policies written by Lloyd's up through 1992.

According to lobbying reports filed with the U.S. Senate, Equitas paid Thompson $180,000 in 2006 to lobby Congress on asbestos-related legislation. He also lobbied on the firm's behalf in 2004 and 2005.

He also was paid more than $100,000 for a speech to a conservative think thank in London.

Thompson is most commonly known to television viewers as "Law & Order's" crusty New York district attorney Arthur Branch, but some of his roles have actually put him in the White House.

He portrayed President Grant in the recently aired HBO film "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," and played a fictional president in the movie "Last Best chance," and a White House chief of staff in "In the Line of Fire."

Among all presidential candidates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the wealthiest, reporting assets of between $190 million and $250 million.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani reported earlier this year that he made $11 million in speeches in 2006. Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards reported that he and his wife held $29.5 million in assets.

Bill and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton this year liquidated a blind trust they held that was worth $5 million-$25 million.

[infidel_us]

''Financial Disclosure Forms Show He Made Between $2.5 And $16M Since January 2006''

And the point of this story is????? I mean, Clinton (Bill) makes millions going over to the middle east and giving speeches bad mouthing his country.....just like he did during his Rhodes Scholar days.....only back then it was for free.

Guess old habits die hard (no pun intended.)

[bizzzz-2009]

Thompson Made Millions As Actor
Financial Disclosure Forms Show He Made Between $2.5 And $16M Since January 2006...

Boy, I gotta hand it to CBS. This is really hard hitting journalism. It wasn''t like he was doing toothpaste commercials.

[gunnerv1]

He made millions as an actor. And your point is? Barbra Striesand has mad more than just million as an actress/singer/political hack.

[hwy71so]

I wonder if he needs a limo driver... :D

[dutchfarmer]

Why would this idiot take a paycut to become a puppet president? He needs to stay in Hollywood.

[sftodd]

so what? Edwards made millions from taking 80% lawyers fees and awards from children and senior citizens. At least Fred earned his money. Edwards is a leech.
Posted by dante805 at 01:45 PM : Oct 11, 2007

Oh, so jealous now aren''t we, dante805? It''s not Edward''s fault you''re so stupid you don''t have a pot to p in, much less a window to throw it out of! LOL!

[dante805]

so what? Edwards made millions from taking 80% lawyers fees and awards from children and senior citizens. At least Fred earned his money. Edwards is a leech.

[neenga]

Now he''s making millions acting like he loves the U.S. Once an actor, always an actor.

[enriquecaliente]

To the republicans, the middle class and below are their private cannon fodder and economic slaves. We do the heavy lifting and dirty work at their bequest.

They are against birth control or abortions, because it deprives them of the people need to toil in their behalf, who will fight the wars not them. They''re for the death penalty so that they can eliminate their enemies under the guise of Justice. They love WAR as it is a BIG money maker for them. The banks control everything in America and the Fed is there to help them not the people. Like the savings and loan debacle that happened in the 80''s. It was those institutions that created and caused the problems. Who paid for it. We did, the American tax payers. Not one CEO or Executives of those institutions involved ever paid for their mistakes. They got bailed out, but that was it. Now we have this housing market loan problem. Who created it. The Banks did. And our government will look the other way, while we pay. These millionaires sit and say "Let them eat cake".
We need to bring back the guillotine.

[simonsez40]

I''m sure this dimwit can relate to Middle Class America.........no thanks no more Repugs in the White House for awhile...........I need a break!

[candy-apple]

And yet there are so many lower class citicens in this country that the middle clas are paying for. If these "millionaires" actually put there money where their mouth is you might see some changes in this country. Instead of wasting all of that money on television and commercial ads trying to become number one, why don''t they donate their time and money to help the underpriviliged "American" citizens?