Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Bill Clinton’s disclosure that his foundation collected at least $41 million from foreign nations such as Saudi Arabia may complicate Hillary Clinton’s ability to serve as the U.S.’s top diplomat.

The former president yesterday released a 2,922-page list of those who donated to the foundation he set up to fund the building of his library and pursue charitable works. Saudi Arabia alone gave between $10 million and $25 million.

Clinton, 62, agreed to disclose his contributors as a condition of his wife’s nomination to be secretary of state. As she negotiates with foreign leaders, she has to separate the solicitations made by her husband from the needs of the U.S., said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit group.

“It’s a line she’s going to be walking the whole time,” Sloan said. While “the transparency and Bill Clinton’s promise to step back from the fundraising are important steps,” Sloan said, she would prefer more disclosure, such as on the timing of donations and whether any of them came after it was clear that Clinton had a lock on the appointment.

To former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, this would be an issue only if the contributions continued.

“It would be a problem if he accepted gifts while his wife was in office,” Kissinger said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. And the former president has pledged “he would no longer do any fundraising from governments,” he said.

Big Givers

Only two donors gave more than $25 million: the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, dedicated to easing poverty for youths in developing countries, and the disease-relief group Unitaid. Saudi Arabia is in the next tier down; an Australian government overseas aid program and a Dominican Republic agency dedicated to fighting AIDS also gave between $10 million and $25 million.

The disclosure lists figures within a range and doesn’t reveal the exact contributions. Thus, the contributions from foreign governments could be more than $100 million.

Norway donated $5 million to $10 million; Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Brunei all contributed between $1 million and $5 million, as did the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office. An Irish government aid program gave at least $500,000.

The United Nations Foundation gave between $100,000 and $250,000. Jamaica’s government offered up $50,000 to $100,000, as did the Ministry for the Environment and Territory of Italy.

All told, the foundation has raised more than $500 million from about 200,000 donors, including a number of groups with ties to foreign leaders or royalty. The Dubai Foundation and Friends of Saudi Arabia each offered up $1 million to $5 million.

‘Tremendous Weight’

“It’s just not good for American presidents to be taking money from foreign governments, and whatever you take has to be disclosed,” said Representative Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican who recently urged President George W. Bush not to solicit contributions for his presidential library from China. “Presidents and former presidents carry tremendous weight.”

Still, Wolf said, “I wouldn’t want to say that this hurts her,” since she shouldn’t be held accountable for her husband’s donors. And the disclosure may mean the new secretary of state will be even tougher on those foreign governments to demonstrate the absence of influence, Wolf said.

Outside of government, a range of foreign interests contributed. Charity lotteries in Sweden and the Netherlands were among the biggest donors. An Indian business association, the Confederation of Indian Industry, donated between $500,000 and $1 million.

Blackwater

One donor whose business may pose a quandary for Hillary Clinton, 61, is Blackwater Training Center Inc., listed as giving between $10,000 and $25,000. On Dec. 8, five security guards who were working for the State Department contractor Blackwater Worldwide to protect a diplomatic convoy were charged with manslaughter and weapons violations in the deaths of 14 Iraqi civilians.

Most of the largest contributors were other foundations or wealthy Americans. A foundation established by Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, gave between $10 million and $25 million. Others in that category included film producer Stephen L. Bing and billionaire Tom Golisano.

The foundation, in a statement, pointed out that most of its donations were a lot smaller. The median gift to the foundation since it was formed in 1997 was $45, and almost 90 percent of all donations were $250 or below.

Kissinger said Clinton’s performance in office will overshadow any contributions her husband got from foreign governments.

“There may be fallout, but we have somebody that’s run for president and got 18 million votes,” he said of her campaign for the Democratic nomination. “Her place in history depends on being an outstanding secretary of State.”

Donors who gave more than $25 million: The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation UNITAID

$10,000,001 to $25,000,000: AUSAID (Australian government aid program) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Stephen L. Bing COPRESIDA-Secretariado Tecnico (Dominican Republic AIDS agency) Fred Eychaner Frank Giustra, chief executive officer, The Radcliffe Foundation Tom Golisano The Hunter Foundation Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The ELMA Foundation Theodore W. Waitt

$5,000,001 to $10,000,000: Government of Norway Nationale Postcode Loterij (Netherlands charity lottery) Haim Saban and The Saban Family Foundation Michael Schumacher The Wasserman Foundation

Source: The Clinton Foundation

To contact the reporters on this story: Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net; Timothy J. Burger in Washington at tburger2@bloomberg.net