Barack Obama became a household name around the world when he was first elected as president of the United States in 2008. Today, he celebrates his 61st birthday and just over five years since he left office, Obama is currently earning more now than he did as head of state.
Obama served two terms in office as president between 2009 and 2017, earning $400,000 (£330,000) per year.
Now, five years out of office, Obama is believed to be worth $70million (£57million) according to Celebrity Net Worth.
He started his political career as part of the Illinois Senate in 1996 and became a senator in 2004 earning more than $150,000 (£123,000) per year.
When Obama took the position as president, his base salary was $400,000 (£330,000) but there were other financial perks of the office.
He reportedly received a $150,000 (£123,000) expense account, $100,000 (£82,000) travel account and $20,000 (£16,000) entertainment budget.
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The book was republished in 2004 after he spoke at the Democratic National Convention to great acclaim and quickly became a bestseller.
His next book, The Audacity of Hope, published in 2006, also became a bestseller and earned him over $1.5million (£1.24million) in 2008.
Following his retirement, publishers started a bidding war for the rights to Obama’s next book, with Penguin Random House winning.
The publisher reportedly paid $65million (£53million) for the rights to both Obama and his wife Michelle’s upcoming books.
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The price tag saw this deal earning the title of biggest publicly known non-fiction book deal.
Following in second place is another former president, Bill Clinton, with a whopping $15million (£12million) deal.
Obama also became the first former president of America to stay in Washington after retiring, as the family remained in town so that their youngest daughter could finish her last two years of high school.
According to CNBC the family’s current home in the Kalorama area in Washington was bought for $8.1million (£6.6million).
Obama started working with the Harry Walker agency as a speaker following his retirement from the presidency.
He has spoken at multiple events, earning hundreds of thousands each time, and was reportedly paid $400,000 (£330,000) for a 90-minute interview for the television network A&E.
The Obama family also opened their own production company in 2018, Higher Ground Productions, and signed a deal with Netflix.
Bustle reported that while the exact figures of the deal weren’t revealed it may have cost up to $50million (£41million).
A year later the production company signed a deal with Spotify reportedly to the tune of $25million (£20million), with Obama and Michelle each releasing their own original podcasts.
The contract with Spotify ended this year and was not renewed, with the Obamas reportedly looking at other offers worth around $10million (£8million).
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