When the University of Missouri at Kansas City was looking for a celebrity speaker to headline its gala luncheon marking the opening of a women's hall of fame, one name that came to mind was Hillary Clinton.
But when the former US Secretary of State's representatives quoted a fee of US$275,000, officials booked the next best option: her daughter, Chelsea. It paid US$65,000 ($95,000) for her appearance on February 24, 2014, a demonstration of the appeal and marketability the former and possibly second-time first daughter employs on behalf of her mother's presidential campaign and family's global charitable empire.
Documents obtained by the Washington Post from the university under Missouri public record laws detail the school's long courtship of the Clintons.
The schedule Chelsea Clinton negotiated called for her to speak for 10 minutes, participate in a 20-minute, moderated question-and-answer session and spend half an hour posing for pictures with VIPs.
Tickets sold out quickly, with 1100 tickets selling for US$35 each for a total of US$38,500. University officials say the event was intended to boost attention for the new hall, not raise money.
