Can you imagine having Bill Gates speak at your commencement ceremony? I for one might be inclined to actually go to my graduation. There are some celebrities like Paris Hilton for example that I don’t care to see, and yet we still see them speaking all over, sometimes in events that really don’t match up. However, what some of us don’t necessarily realize is that you have to pay. Regardless of the celebrity, somebody is paying out big bucks to get them there, sometimes more than you might think. Here are a few of the most overpaid celebrity “speakers” for your buck.

1. James Carville – $30,000
He’s a lot cheaper than Sean Hannity who requires $100,000 and a private jet, but who is this guy? Most of us have never even heard of him and yet he charges $30,000 an event. What you may not know is that Carville was lead consultant for Bill Clinton and what could be considered a great strategist, but that was how many years ago now? He currently teaches political science at Tulane University.

2. Newt Gingrich – $60,000
Is it politically correct to say that he might very well be crazy? With all of the things that Gingrich has said, especially in this particular election, it’s a little bit scary to think that he could really be a presidential candidate. Of course, he really has no chance against some other candidates, at least we don’t think that he does, but he’s being supported as a major philanderer among other things, by major Christian groups. The bad news is that you can’t win without the support of the South. This said, I don’t want to pay to hear from someone who is literally crazy, let alone $60,000!

3. John Edwards – $65,000
Last I checked, the country still hated John Edwards. Who doesn’t hate a man who cheats on his wife when she’s fighting cancer? Add to that the fact that he is currently facing the prospect of some serious and we do mean serious jail time, and what are we crazy?

4. Donald Trump – $1.5 Million
This one really has me stumped. Trump may have been in real estate for years, but he has also gone bankrupt not once, not twice, but 4 times! How exactly is that considered to be business smarts? Steve Jobs took his annual salary down to $1 the second time he started working for Apple and never actually went Bankrupt, and yet Donald Trump, who we are paying $1.5 million has gone bankrupt 4 times. Maybe we just love his hair?

5. Bristol Palin – $30,000
This may be the worst one. She is the daughter of a previous presidential candidate who was made famous for saying things that make her the female George W. Bristol got pregnant as a teen, has not gotten married last we checked, has an extremely Republican family background, and we’re paying her $30,000 to promote sexual abstinence and pro-life. It’s like the fact that we have a TV show dedicated to teen moms, some of whom are being arrested for all sorts of fun stuff. It doesn’t make sense. Her mother charges $100,000, again why are we paying the female George W who we make fun of that much!

6. Kim Kardashian – $75,000
Bristol Palin has been beat. Kardashian is a reality star, and frankly, no one actually knows why she’s famous. She has gone into all areas of business since she started on the reality show route. But she’s not an actress, she’s not a singer, she is the daughter of Robert Kardashian, a lawyer in the OJ Simpson trial, and step daughter to a former Olympic athlete who got a really bad facelift. She charges an average of $75,000 per appearance. Apparently, stupid really does sell.

7. Paris Hilton – $110,000
Another one of why is she famous? She’s the daughter in a major line of hotels, she has made a sex tape. When she first became famous, starring in her own reality show, she was not an actress (she’s still not an actress), she wasn’t a singer (she’s still not really a singer), we can go down the list if you would like.