Obama’s Next Gig: A $400,000 Wall Street Speech

Matt Vespa | April 25, 2017 8:30 AM

It looks like the former President Obama is going to be joining the Wall Street club, like his former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, as he’s expected to give a speech to a firm for a fee of $400,000. One speech and he’s made more than most Americans make in their lifetimes. Maybe he needs to pay his bills, which is the answer Bill Clinton gave for why he and his wife deserve the high six-figure speaking engagements (via The Hill):

Obama will appear at Cantor Fitzgerald LP’s healthcare conference in September, Fox Business Network first reported Monday.
Fox Business said it confirmed Obama’s appearance with senior people at Cantor, a financial services firm.

Obama will serve as the keynote speaker for one day at the company's event, sources there told Fox Business.

The network's sources said Obama has signed a contract for the speech with the mid-size investment bank in New York.

Cantor is waiting to coordinate with Obama before making a formal announcement, it continued.

Obama can reportedly back out of the arrangement if scheduling conflicts or other concerns arise, it added.

Again, I have no problem with people making a lot of money. I have no problem with Obama making $400,000 for this speech. He’s a former president. We all know that former members of government tend to land high-salaried jobs once they leave public life, especially when it come to presidents; you’re pretty much set for life. I just don’t want to hear Obama give any more class warfare lectures, or position himself as a working class hero. Clinton tried to convey that narrative around the time we got all the news about her speaking fees. It made her seem inauthentic about economic issues, but Obama is different. Politics aside, he’s charismatic and, unlike Clinton, had the ability and skill to win his elections. Yet, we can ponder whether this could water down his effectiveness campaigning for Democrats come 2018, which I think we can all safely bet is going to happen. Time will tell.