LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Thanks mostly to book deals
and speaking fees, Democratic presidential candidate
Wesley Clark parlayed income of $60,000 as a four-star
general in 1999 into a 2002 private-sector salary of
more than $1.6 million, his tax records show.

After retiring from the Army, Clark hit the ground
running as a rookie investment banker at Stephens
Group Inc. of Little Rock, the largest investment firm
not on Wall Street. With that entree into the business
world, he quickly received consulting jobs and seats
on the boards of several smaller or mid-sized
corporations.

More than half of the retired general's income in the
past two years came from speeches and book-writing,
Clark's financial disclosure form being filed with the
Federal Election Commission shows.

Just three of his board positions produced fees of
more than $239,000. In 14 months, Clark made more than
$1 million at Stephens before leaving the company to
start his own consulting firm. Clark's checking
account at his new consulting business contains
$500,000 to $1 million, according to his disclosure
form, which allows filers to provide income ranges
instead of specific amounts.

Last year, Clark became board chairman at WaveCrest
Laboratories in Virginia, collecting $195,000 for
consulting on the design and distribution of the
company's motorized bicycle that is being marketed to
the U.S. military.

Tom McMahon, spokesman for WaveCrest, has said the
research and development firm made Clark its board
chairman because of his intense interest in science
and technology.

Clark told The Associated Press last month that
military technology played a big role in his
post-military career. But he said he received those
lucrative jobs and directorships "because I was a
smart guy who could provide leadership," not so much
as a gadget guru.

Clark's net worth is between $3 million and $3.5
million, his campaign says.

During Clark's last full year in the military, his
taxable income from his military pay was $58,000, at a
time when he was NATO's supreme allied commander
overseeing the war in Kosovo. Clark leaves Sunday to
testify at the war-crimes trial of former Yugoslav
leader Slobodan Milosovic.

In his first full year at Stephens, Clark's income was
$670,000, excluding his military retirement pay. Last
year, his income was $1.52 million, minus his military
pension of $85,000.

For 2001, Clark's earnings from writing, speeches and
sitting on boards of directors amounted to $421,955.
Last year, that figure was $971,885.

Clark's speaking engagements have brought him nearly
$1.5 million in income in the last 23 months.

The Clark campaign's release of his tax returns is an
effort "to give the American people a complete sense
of his financial background," said spokesman Chris
Lehane.

Clark owns houses in Little Rock and in Virginia and
he recently sold a rental property in Colorado,
collecting between $15,000 and $50,000 on the sale,
according to his disclosure form. He also owns a home
on 20 acres west of Little Rock in rural Paron, Ark.

Clark holds shares of stock in dozens of individual
companies, and made $50,000 to $100,000 on his
investment in a pharmaceutical company, Pharmathene,
that specializes in bioterrorism vaccines and
treatments.

Because of an oversight by his accountant, Clark had
to pay an extra $24 to Internal Revenue Service in
2001 because of an error on taxes regarding household
help.

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Associated Press reporters Pete Yost in Washington and
James Jefferson in Little Rock contributed to this
report.

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