Bob Geldof paid $100,000 for poverty speech

Anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof charged $100,000 to go to Melbourne and give a speech about world suffering.

Geldof, 54, spoke about the tragedy of Third World poverty and the failure of governments to combat the crisis, at a Crown casino function on Thursday night.


But the outspoken human rights activist charged about $100,000 for his trouble - a speaker's fee that included the cost of luxury hotel rooms and first-class airfares. Fellow activist the Rev Tim Costello, World Vision's CEO, spoke for free. An event insider said the Geldof payments included the costs of a minder.

"It was an inspiring speech. But when you think he got paid $100,000 to talk about poverty, it seems like a bit of a contradiction," the insider said. "That's $100,000 that could have made a difference to poverty right there. Everyone in the audience would have walked away in awe. If only they knew the full story."