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, it’s 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 Architecture’s 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.