The Obamas face the paid-speaking circuit and all the questions that come with it [View all]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-obamas-face-the-paid-speaking-circuit--and-all-the-questions-that-come-with-it/2017/04/27/a723c280-2b65-11e7-b605-33413c691853_story.html
ORLANDO When Barack and Michelle Obama left the White House, they both spoke longingly of a break from life in the public eye. But following a months-long vacation, they have started to tap into the lucrative paid-speaking circuit that has enriched so many other former presidents and first ladies with the potential to quickly net millions of dollars.
On Thursday, both made their first appearances as speakers-for-hire.
Hi, everybody, its good to get out of the house, said Michelle Obama, visibly relaxed, as she sat for a wide-ranging but free of partisan politics question-and-answer session before the American Institute of Architectures annual conference. Her husband, meanwhile, joined historian Doris Kearns Goodwin in New York for a closed-door address to employees of the A&E cable network.
It was not divulged how much they were paid for these first appearances. But the former president will collect $400,000 for a September speech to a health-care conference sponsored by investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, Fox Business reported this week.
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I have no problem with the Obamas making bank. I'm sure it WILL be used for good causes, in addition to helping the daughters. Charity begins at home.