Former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, has transitioned to lucrative roles at JPMorgan Chase, Princeton, and Georgetown post-retirement.
Outgoing Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley during an Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in his honor at Summerall Field at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall on Sept. 29, 2023, in Arlington, Va.Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Since retiring from the military last year, former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley has become a senior adviser to JPMorgan Chase bank, joined the faculties of Princeton and Georgetown, and embraced the lucrative paid speaking circuit. From military pay of $204,000 a year, Milley is sure to skyrocket to compensation in the millions, especially because he is represented by the same high-powered speakers’ agency as Hillary Clinton, who faced criticism in 2016 for her paid speeches to investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Called “cashing in” by military officers, transitioning from capped government salaries to defense industry, private consulting for global risk management, or work with venture capital brings in lavish paydays. For retired generals, the invasion is swift. The recently retired chief of space operations for the Space Force, Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, for example, has joined the board of directors for aerospace companies Impulse Space and Axiom Space, as well as becoming senior managing director for investment firm Cerberus Capital Management. Gen. James C. McConville, who served as chief of staff of the Army before retiring last year, has joined the board of directors of drone manufacturer Edge Autonomy and aerospace investment firm AE Industrial Partners, as an operating partner.
Milley’s speaker’s agency, Harry Walker Agency is touting the retired general, who crossed swords with former President Donald Trump and continues to be a polarizing figure, for his insights on leadership and international conflicts. “His perspective is invaluable for audiences looking to understand the impact of current conflicts and managing risks on boards of directors and leadership teams who are responsible for making strategic decisions and identifying vulnerabilities,” the website says.
According to the speaker’s agency, Milley recently participated in a Q&A at a gathering of 160 CEOs organized by investment bank Moelis & Company, where he provided his “insider’s perspective on world affairs.”
The engagement has not been previously reported.
“He was terrific — we loved him!” said Moelis & Company, a global investment bank, in a review featured on the agency website. “It was fantastic!”
According to the agency website, Milley “provided crucial perspective to business leaders,” but provided little more detail.
On March 4, Milley also spoke at the American Council on Education’s 2024 Presidents and Chancellors Summit at the Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C., according to an event page. A portrait of Milley appears on the list of major speakers and links to his Harry Walker Agency page.
His speech at the summit was sponsored by Deloitte, one of the world’s largest consulting and accounting firms, an event page notes. The page describes his speech as exploring “the convergence of democracy, higher education, and moral leadership during times of crisis”; as well as “emphasizing the responsibilities of leaders to uphold democratic principles and inspire resilience in challenging times.”
“The Summit was exclusively for presidents and chancellors, and there is no transcript,” Jonathan Riskind, vice president of public affairs and strategic communications for the American Council on Education, told The Intercept in response to a query.
Asked for transcripts of this and other speaking engagements, and for Milley’s compensation, Moelis & Company, the Harry Walker Agency, and Milley himself did not respond to requests for comment.
Speaker’s fees for former top officials like Milley are often substantial. During the 2016 presidential election, Democratic nominee Clinton came under fire for receiving over $600,000 in speaking fees from Goldman Sachs alone in one year. Along with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, the couple raked in over $153 million in speaking fees since leaving the White House.
Milley has emerged as an ardent critic of Trump — unusual for high-ranking military officers who typically eschew politics. In his final speech as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff last year, in a swipe at Trump, Milley said that “we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator.”
Trump replied with a statement on his social media platform Truth Social: “Mark Milley, who led perhaps the most embarrassing moment in American history with his grossly incompetent implementation of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, costing many lives, leaving behind hundreds of American citizens, and handing over BILLIONS of dollars of the finest military equipment ever made, will be leaving the military next week.”
Clinton’s speeches reportedly earned her around $200,000 a pop — about the same as Milley’s annual salary when he was in uniform.
Comments
8 responses to “Gen. Mark Milley’s Second Act: Multimillionaire”
Gen. Milley’s case is standard procedure for politicians, military, news media personalities and similar birds of pray. A merry go round and revolving door that feeds into itself. There is no possible redemption for the US regime, only collapse and eventual popular uprising are the only alternatives.
So AIPAC and the big money controls the congress and senate using:-
1) huge campaign donations (legal. destroys the democracy).
2) buying the services of a corporation owned by a politician or family (legal).
3) Great value “loans”. (legal)
4) Great value purchases. (legal)
5) Cash. (illegal)
6) Accommodation++ overseas. (All Congress & senate do this in Israel, so does that make it legal?)
7) Investment “tips”. The politicians financial investments make $B. (legal)
8) Off-shore bank accounts (illegal, but hard to crack).
9) purchase of “paintings” by the politician or the politician’s family. We see this with GWB and Hunter Biden. (legal).
10) Giving plum $B jobs to people after they have served their term. (legal)
11) Speaking tours after they have served their terms. (legal)
12) Blackmail for things the politician committed before their term. (illegal, but safe)
13) Honey pot with blackmail attached. (illegal). We see this with Clinton and Blair who used the services of Epstein.
14) Executive appointments to crack-head members of the family.
Why would anyone enlist in the U.S. Military to make generals and admirals rich when they retire? Is it worth losing a leg or arm fighting for an Israeli control country? Something every young person should consider before enlisting. The life you save may be your own.
If you do a lot of research regarding the First World War. You will reach the conclusion that the U.S. did not have to be involved in that war. Then, most likely there would never have been a Second World War.
Another of the invaluable contributions of “the Ivy league” to Murica….revolving door babysit! The ivy plague.
My comment is not getting posted.
I was simply referring to Peter Singer’s 2003 book Corporate Warriors, which described the 7-year revolving door from West Point, through the MIC to lobbying.
I’ll try this way…the link might be triggering an algorithm.
But then Smedley Butler broke dow the uniformed mobsterism in 1935 with his ‘War Is A Racket’.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Racket&ved=2ahUKEwjhg9eN8PWEAxXyU0EAHZO-DGMQFnoECDsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw00k9IT0m02ZQAwJ6Tk62a3
I’m delighted to see you acknowledge the GREAT Major General Smedley Darlington Butler, author of the groundbreaking “War Is A Racket.” This is what a TRUE HERO AND PATRIOT looks like!!! We could use at least several dozen of him to help clean up the catastrophic mess that is the twenty-first century.