Ben Carson fashions himself a
political novice, but he’s an expert at one crucial political skill:
cashing in on public exposure.
Carson, perhaps more than any
other presidential candidate, is profiting handsomely from the fame he
has gained as a popular upstart contender for the Republican nomination.
And unlike most candidates who put their business interests on hold
while campaigning, Carson has continued to earn lavish speaking fees as a candidate, while also raking in book royalties and income from other sources.
Right behind Carson in the
presidential windfall sweepstakes is Donald Trump, whose new book,
"Crippled America," has sold more than 50,000 copies in less than one
month, according to Nielsen Bookscan and other sources. Mike Huckabee,
Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have also penned timely books that are selling
well as they ride the coattails of the campaign.
Hillary Clinton’s two books, by
contrast, have generated little new interest this year, perhaps because
she's already sold nearly 1.7 million copies, combined, and everybody
who wants to know about her already does. New books by Marco Rubio,
Carly Fiorina and Bernie Sanders haven’t really caught on, either. And a
few of the candidates, including Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, John Kasich
and Martin O’Malley appear to have done little so far to profit from
the visibility brought by the campaign—though there will be
opportunities to do that later, of course.
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