Businesses you may not know Michelle Obama owns

While in office as first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama embarked on several charity works, in addition to championing initiatives that empower the black community, particularly black girls.

Now a former first lady, Obama continues to inspire hope and embark on several initiatives to empower humanity. When she was in office, one of her popular initiatives was Let’s Move!, which aimed to fight childhood obesity.

Since leaving, she has taken to entrepreneurship with several businesses. Here are some of them:

PLEZi Nutrition

She is the founder of PLEZi Nutrition. The company said it is “on a mission to create higher standards for how the US makes and markets food and beverages for kids, leading with nutrition, taste, and truth.” She launched the company at a time when the U.S. was going through a nutrition-related health crisis as kids took to drinking too many sweetened beverages.

Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast

Obama runs the “Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast” which is available exclusively on Audible. It is an audio product based on her book The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times. She has engaged in conversations with notable figures such as Ellen DeGeneres, Tyler Perry, Conan O’Brien, and Oprah Winfrey.

She has also had conversations with other prominent figures, including Gayle King, Hoda Kotb, David Letterman, and more, sharing personal stories and insights for listeners.

Higher Ground Productions

She co-founded Higher Ground Productions with her husband. They focus on telling compelling stories that do not only entertain but inspire audiences.

So far, the company has released about 17 movies and TV shows. They include “American Symphony,” “Leave the World Behind,” “Rustin,” “Working: What We Do All Day,” “The Light We Carry,” “Descendant,” “Waffles + Mochi’s Restaurant,” “Ada Twist, Scientist,” “Fatherhood,” “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution,” “Becoming,” and others.

Authoring and speaking engagements

Obama is an author who is also often paid to speak at events. In 2013, she was paid over $700,000 for speaking about diversity and inclusion at a tech fair in Munich, Germany, to 5000 attendees.

After signing over a $60 million deal with Penguin for her memoir “Becoming”, it was declared by Penguin as the best-selling book of 2018. Within 15 days after the release of the book in 2018, it sold over 2 million copies in various formats in the U.S. and Canada. By 2019, it had sold 10 million copies.