Leaders & stars snub foundation
What do Pope Francis, President Obama, Leonardo DiCaprio, Elton John and Angela Merkel have in common? They’re all spurning the Clintons this weekend.
The Clinton Foundation invited scores of leaders, celebs and donors to its Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting at the Sheraton New York in Midtown Saturday — but many said no thanks, Politico reported on Saturday.
Big names have shied away from the fourday conference after months of bad press for the charity and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign.
The foundation invited Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and economist Thomas Piketty to speak on income inequality — but both reportedly declined.
President Obama, heading to New York Sunday to speak at the United Nations, is also skipping the festivities. So is Mayor de Blasio, who will be in Connecticut with his family.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who attended a White House state dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday, opted out. And Elton John, whom the foundation hoped to honor for his AIDS work, declined to attend, as well, the report said.
The charity also got the cold shoulder from British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Merkel.
And the pope didn’t stay in town for the Clintons, instead taking off for Philadelphia.
The $2 billion foundation came under scrutiny as Hillary Clinton launched her presidential campaign this year.
Reports say countries that contributed to the foundation got increases in arms exports authorized by the State Department under Hillary Clinton.
And as daughter Chelsea Clinton assumes a larger role, bigtime donors are becoming scarcer, according to reports.
Still, the foundation said it was “extremely pleased” with this year’s lineup, which includes Bill Gates, Ashley Judd, Edward Norton, George Soros, Charlize Theron, Neil de Grasse Tyson and Richard Branson.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko are also expected.