"With Francois Hollande’s government languishing in the polls, former French President Nicholas Sarkozy is facing a dilemma. Should he capitalize on Hollande’s struggles and prepare for a comeback in politics, or should he go into private enterprise to make his millions? A Financial Times report suggests that Sarkozy stands to make millions by leveraging his connections into a cushy job in finance, but he is wary of taking the leap for fear it could hurt his political future:
The proposal was to set up a private equity fund backed by the Qatar Investment Authority, the $100bn sovereign wealth fund, that would invest in “European reconstruction” – companies in continental Europe, with a particular emphasis on Spain. […]The project looked promising: Mr Sarkozy had received a letter of intent from the QIA to commit €250m to the private equity fund, according to four people with knowledge of the pledge. It even had a mooted name, Columbia Investments. It would have an office in London in which the former president would visit one or two days a week, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr Sarkozy held talks with at least one investment executive to join the firm as his other partner in the British capital, according to three people familiar with the matter.
In sum, if politics doesn’t work out for Sarkozy, a coalition including Qatar and senior French business leaders will pay him 3 million euros per year to manage investments."
