Obama Family Set To Cash In on Book Deals
According to multiple media reports, Penguin Random House has won the global rights to two forthcoming books from former President Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama. The exact amount of the winning bid hasn't been announced as of yet, though there have been reports that the bidding war topped $60 million.
Memoirs from former Presidents do very big business - Bill Clinton made $15 million from the publication of "My Life" in 2004, while George W. Bush took home $10 million for his autobiography, "Decision Points".
Former President Obama and his wife are both publishing an autobiography, and the rights to both books were up for grabs in the recently concluded auction. The Obamas have a history with Penguin Random House, so it is not a surprise that they ended up winning the auction.
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President Obama left office with an approval rating of 57%, which is quite high for a President who is finishing out his second term in office. Given the popularity of the Obamas (and the current divided state of the country following the election of President Trump), there should be little surprise that the Obamas managed to fetch such a princely sum for their book rights.
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Former Presidents stand to cash in after leaving office, especially if they managed to leave with a high degree of popularity.
Former President Bill Clinton is the best example of this, as he has collected a fortune since leaving office in 2001, thanks to book deals and a large number of lucrative speaking engagements. If former President Obama wants to go the speaking engagement route as well, there is no doubt that he will collect tens of millions of dollars, as he will be a very in-demand speaker.
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The Obamas left office with a net worth of roughly $10 million, with a good chunk of this coming from President Obama's previous book deals.
With President Obama and Michelle still quite young, there is an opportunity for them to easily make over $100 million over the remainder of their years. First step - the lucrative autobiography deal.
Filed under: General Knowledge
