Notoriety Regarding $440 Million Fee
Ciresi's law firm was frequently mentioned in the press for the remarkably high legal fees collected in the 1998 tobacco settlement, fees variously reported as between $440 million and $558 million. The fees were to be paid over two years, in contrast to the 25-year annual payment scheme used to pay the plaintiffs of the case, the State of Minnesota. Hence, the time-adjusted value (or net present value) of the Ciresi firm's fees, relative to the total award, was enhanced. The fees were funded directly by tobacco companies.
"Marlboro has risen to its No. 1 position on the backs of America's youth," Ciresi said in January 1998.
As a result of the 1998 Minnesota tobacco settlement, Ciresi came to be known as a wealthy man and philanthropist, appearing regularly in the national and local press. According to Forbes Magazine, with Ciresi among the highest-paid lawyers in the USA, "Cigarette money alone put these ten lawyers on the top-earning list—and it's likely to keep them there for the next 25 years." The magazine listed Ciresi's personal annual income at $14.4 million in 2000. Forbes speculated that Ciresi would use his newfound wealth and prominence to run for political office, which soon proved correct.
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