Clive Palmer’s $5m gift to honour the JFK legend

CLIVE Palmer has donated nearly $5 million to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation since 2000.

Phantom Palmer

OF all the business and charitable ventures that Clive Palmer likes to trumpet, few are more prized than his directorship of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

But Mr Palmer’s admiration for the 35th American president does not come cheap; when he joined the board of US political, cultural and business elite responsible for overseeing the presidential library and museum on the Boston waterfront in 2010, it came after a decade as one of their most generous financial donors.

The Australian can reveal that Mr Palmer has donated $US4,466,865 — nearly $5 million — to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation since 2000. But unlike some of his other philanthropic pledges, which are alleged to have not been delivered in full — such as $100m for medical research in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and $6m for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards — Mr Palmer has kept his commitments to the Kennedys.

The Kennedy family’s relationship with Mr Palmer has been especially lucrative. So much so that Mr Palmer’s regular donations often exceed those by major US corporations and wealthy individuals for specific initiatives.

Financial support provided by US corporate giants such as AT&T, the Walt Disney Corporation, Bank of America, Boeing, IBM, and Tiffany is often dwarfed by Mr Palmer’s generosity. Mr Palmer became a President’s Circle member and financial contributor to the ­library’s annual gala black tie May Dinner in 2000. The Profile in Courage Award — “the most prestigious symbol of courageous leadership in public service” — is presented at the dinner each year.

In 2007, Mr Palmer became a Legacy Laureate sponsor of the May Dinner. These are the top ­donors to the dinner, which raised $US2.5m last year. Mr Palmer, along with family and staff, has ­attended at least four May Dinners since 2007.

A $US2.2m “capstone gift” was made by Mr Palmer to support the Profile in Courage Trust. Mr Palmer made a further donation of $US635,900 to the trust in honour of senator Ted Kennedy, the former president’s brother, who died in 2009.

In 2011, the library commenced its JFK50 campaign, to mark half a century since Kennedy became president in 1961. To support digital archiving, Mr Palmer made a further $US500,000 gift. For this donation, Mr Palmer became an Individual Legacy Leader.

Mr Palmer is also a member of the President’s Council, which mostly includes companies and foundations, who each contribute at least $US25,000 every year.

Mr Palmer was unanimously elected to the board in May 2010 by the existing board members. The honorary board president is Caroline Kennedy, the late president’s daughter.

The mining tycoon turned politician has a record of funding ­organisations that later appoint him to positions of leadership.

In 2012, Mr Palmer announced he had been appointed joint secretary-general of the World Leadership Alliance. He claimed he would be a “major adviser to the G20” forum of world leaders. He also noted he was now president of the World Economic Council.

The Australian’s Hedley Thomas later reported that Mr Palmer was the largest donor to Club de Madrid, which established the World Leadership Alliance and the World Economic Council.

Claims of a lead role advising the G20 were found to be false. Mr Palmer regards John F. Kennedy as one of his heroes. He was ­accused of plagiarising a Kennedy speech at the National Press Club after he was sworn-in as the member for Fairfax last year.

On the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s death in November, flags at the Palmer Coolum Resort flew at half-mast. The ninth hole on the resort’s golf course has an elaborate memorial dedicated to Kennedy. It was unveiled by Kennedy nephew Stephen Smith in 2012. A nearby lake was named the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Lake for World Peace.

“Kennedy is a man I greatly admire and I continue to have a close relationship with the Kennedy family,” Mr Palmer said last year.

Palmer reportedly enlisted Caroline Kennedy and the late president’s sister, Eunice Shriver, to help launch his Titanic replica project in 2012. The launch, however, was postponed.

In 2008, Mr Palmer’s son ­Michael spent several months working as an intern with Senator Kennedy. That experience encouraged him to run for the Queensland state seat of Nudgee as an LNP candidate in 2009. He failed to win election.

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation responded to The Australian’s request for ­information regarding Mr Palmer’s donations.

Mr Palmer holds shares in dozens of public and private companies and trusts, including several overseas. His donations to the foundation are listed in publications as individual donations rather than coming from his portfolio of companies.

When Mr Palmer joined the board he was described by the foundation as a “prominent Australian businessman and philanthropist” who had made “generous gifts”.

That generosity has given him prestige and influence at the top echelons of US high society.

“The legacy of President Kennedy and his family is one of service not only to the citizens of America but also to the world,” Mr Palmer said in 2010.