Chelsea Clinton takes new job at hedge fund

NEW YORK -- Chelsea Clinton has started working for Avenue Capital Group, a hedge fund that manages about $12 billion in assets, the agency that represents Clinton confirmed Saturday.

New York-based Avenue Capital specializes in trading in distressed debt, or debt of companies that are nearing or have filed for bankruptcy.

Clinton, 26, had been working as a consultant for McKinsey & Co. since 2003, reportedly for a six-figure salary. She received a master's degree from Oxford University after graduating from Stanford University in 2001.

Details, such as when she started work at Avenue Capital, her exact role and salary, were not released by the representing agency, Rubenstein Associates.

Clinton shouldn't have to worry about the political leanings of Avenue Capital's top executives.

Federal records indicate Avenue Capital founders Marc Lasry and Sonia Gardner have donated thousands of dollars to Democratic lawmakers, including Chelsea Clinton's mother, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, as well as to Democratic campaign committees.

Spokesmen for Chelsea Clinton's father, former President Bill Clinton, and her mother declined to comment Saturday. Messages left with Avenue Capital were not immediately returned.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)