About a year after abruptly stepping down as speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner has finally turned passion into a career. Boehner accepted a board member position for Reynolds American, the second largest tobacco company in the U.S., one of their products being Boehner’s favorite cigarette brand – Camel.
John Boehner was famous for being an unapologetic smoker during his days in Congress. Upon entering the Speaker’s office, team Ryan had to fumigate the office to permanently remove the scent of cigarette smoke. Boehner was regularly seen with a cigarette in his mouth and Paul Ryan even had mentioned how he tried to sit as far away from Boehner as possible during meetings to avoid his cigarette aroma.
Boehner’s employment into Reynolds American comes at a tumultuous time for the tobacco company. They are dealing with a market that is drastically evolving with the introduction of innovative tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and vaping.
While no salary was released, it is expected Boehner will be making plenty more than his previous job. Directors for Reynolds American made a minimum of $300,000 last year. It’s a big jump from the former speaker’s last year salary of $174,000.