The Obamas: The couple's fortune post-presidency comes from their lucrative careers as authors

Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle’s lives have completely changed since he left the presidency in 2017. They had entered the White House with an estimated net worth of $1.3 million, a number that grew during the presidency by $20 million and ballooned into an impressive $70 million from 2017 onwards.

The couple has worked diligently to capitalize on many growth opportunities by leveraging their unique experiences to write multiple lucrative best-sellers and create other ventures that yield impressive returns. So what financial decisions did the couple make to steadily grow their net worth throughout the years?

The Obamas are record-breaking authors

President Obama’s presidential salary was $400 000 during his two terms. However, Barack made much more from his career as an author. According to Business Insider from 2005 to 2016 the former president made $15.6 million in advances and royalties for his books. This lucrative avenue would prove to grow immensely through to the end of the presidency when he and Michelle signed a contract worth $60 million to each write a memoir. Both books went on to become record-breaking international best sellers. Becoming, Michelle’s memoir sold 17 million copies as of July 2022 according to Insider while Barack’s memoir A Promised Land sold 890 000 copies on its first day of release and sold 3.3 million copies during the year it was published.

Barack and Michelle Obama’s multifaceted careers

The Obamas made sure to capitalize on the success of their books by venturing into audiovisual media. The couple founded their own production company Higher Ground Productions and signed a production deal with Netflix estimated at $50 million which has them working on developing their own projects which included Becoming an accompanying documentary to Michelle’s book while Barack even won an Emmy for narrating one of their projects.

Furthermore, the couple also enjoys lucrative public speaking careers. Obama has reportedly been paid as much as $400 000 to speak at events while Michelle reportedly earns $225 000 per speaking appearance.

The couple has ultimately leveraged their positions to carve out an impressive financial status relying on shrewd business decisions and consistent quality output as writers, public speakers and production house.

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Sources:

The Mirror: How Michelle and Barack Obama made their $70m net worth - and what they spend it on

Business Insider: The Obamas' net worth: How Michelle and Barack Obama make their money