The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House. Needless to say, it has deep pockets.
Those of us who have wondered about the price of New York Governor Cuomo’s disastrous “leadership” in the Covid epidemic now have the answer. Crown is paying Cuomo $5.12 million spread over two tax years for the rights to Cuomo’s ludicrous American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Think of the money James Buchanan could have raked in if Crown were around in 1860.
The New York Post devotes a detailed cover story and a good editorial to the disclosures following on Cuomo’s release of his tax returns. And let’s not forget the Post cover.
From the Post story:
The book quickly became a best-seller last year after Cuomo’s televised pandemic briefings turned him into a media figure beloved by self-proclaimed “Cuomosexuals.”
But the sales tanked when he became embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal involving several former aides earlier this year.
As of Monday morning, it had only sold around 48,000 print copies in the US, according to NPD BookScan.
Based on that figure, Crown Publishing paid Cuomo around $107 per copy sold of the hardcover book, which has a suggested retail price of $29.99.
New copies were available on the Amazon website at a cut-rate price of $13.54 each and an auction for a new copy on eBay had just one bid, for a measly $1.99, plus shipping.
In February, Crown Publishing stopped promoting the book and said there were “no plans” to reprint it or release a paperback version, citing a federal probe into his administration’s “reporting of Covid-related fatalities in nursing homes.”
From the Post editorial:
The gov vowed to donate a “significant portion” of his windfall to charity, yet he gave away just $500,000, to the United Way of New York State — a tenth of his total pre-tax proceeds. And he took a tax break for the gift, deducting $300,000 of it this year and $200,000 to show up next year.
What price Cuomo?
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