According to reports, former first lady Michelle Obama earned about $750,000 for a Monday speech she gave in Germany on the importance of diversity and inclusion.
At Munich’s “Bits and Pretzels,” a forum in a start-up event held on the fringes of the annual Oktoberfest beer festival, Obama spoke to an audience of about 5,000 about getting over “self-doubt” and the “virtues of diversity.”
Angela Merkel would disagree.
Two unnamed people near the conference organizers told reporters that Obama was paid 700,000 euros (about $741,000) for her speech. The event’s organizers informed the media outlet that the former first lady always gets the most requests to speak.
One insider said, “They pulled out all the stops to acquire her, and it’s one of the largest fees they have ever paid.”
$741,000 is almost twice as much as Joe Biden’s annual salary as President ($400,000).
In 2017, it cost $400,000 to book Barack Obama for a speaking engagement, while Michelle Obama could be booked for $200,000.
With talk that Michelle Obama may be the Democratic contender for president, the former first lady appears to be cashing in.
In a keynote speech on “entrepreneurial spirit and leadership abilities,” Barack Obama addressed this same gathering three years ago. It is unknown how much he got paid for that event, but for two talks he gave in Australia earlier this year, he made only approximately $7,000.
While he was in office, The Obamas’ fortune skyrocketed due to their forays into the media, such as their books and podcasts.
The former first lady received an advance of $65 million for her best-selling autobiography.
The pair recently made a $50 million deal with streaming service Netflix. Their net worth could be as high as $135 million.
As a “strategic partner” in NBA Africa, a venture that oversees the Basketball Africa League, the former president expects to pay less taxes because of a unique loophole.
Loopholes are always deemed sinister until a leftwing politician utilizes them. In the Clinton/Trump presidential debates, Hillary Clinton famously chided her opponent, Trump, for leveraging loopholes in finance law.
One wonders what she thinks of Obama.
