-
Kari Lake has never won an election, but she has quickly become one of MAGA’s biggest stars.
-
In the last five months alone, she earned $20,000 from one paid speaking engagement and $27,000 from sales of her book.
-
She also invested between $1,000 and $15,000 in Trump‘Truth Social’.
The GOP’s hopes of retaking the Senate rest in part on Kari Lake, the former TV host and 2022 gubernatorial candidate who will become the party’s Senate nomination in Arizona.
But Lake continues to spend a lot of time out of state, much to the chagrin of Republicans, including former President Donald Trump.
It turns out she makes some extra money from it.
Lake was paid $20,000 to appear at the St. Joseph County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner in South Bend, Indiana, according to a financial disclosure filed in late June.
The Arizona Republican previously filed a disclosure in January showing that she had given several paid speeches in the year before announcing her 2023 campaign in October 2023, totaling $75,000. The new payment in April appears to contradict her campaign’s previous statement that Lake “did not [charge] a speaking fee.”
In the five months since she went public in January, Lake has also earned an additional $27,738.77 from sales of her book, “Unafraid.”
Her June revelation also included more details about her deal with right-wing publisher Winning Team Publishing in 2023: a $100,000 advance, plus $25% of net profits on top of that.
The candidate’s assets have been largely unchanged since January, aside from one notable addition to her stock portfolio: between $1,000 and $15,000 worth of shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that operates the former president’s “Truth Social” platform.
Lake’s campaign did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
The GOP candidate is all but certain to face Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego this fall in what will be a key race to determine control of the Senate.
Many politicians from both parties have found ways to cash in on their celebrity brands, usually through book sales which can sometimes exceed their official salaries. But Lake has yet to win an election, and some Republicans have complained that she spends much of her time out of state.
Read the original article on Business Insider
