Michelle Obama earns $741K for one-hour speech, nearly double what Biden earns in a year as president

Stephen Nartey September 26, 2023
Michell Obama/Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Former First Lady Michelle Obama has earned almost $750,000 for delivering a one-hour speech at a tech fair in Munich, Germany. Michelle Obama received this impressive fee for addressing a start-up event coinciding with the famous Oktoberfest beer festival.

The event’s webpage revealed that the former first lady was scheduled to address a crowd of approximately 5,000 attendees. Her speech was focused on encouraging people to overcome self-doubt and emphasized the significance of inclusivity and diversity.

Organizers highlighted that Michelle Obama was the top choice of participants for the event, and her presence is highly anticipated year after year.

The organizers of the annual ‘Bits and Pretzels’ forum indicated that they went to great lengths to secure Michelle Obama as a speaker, paying her one of the highest fees ever, according to a source close to the team. Her fee, approximately $741,000, is nearly double what President Joe Biden earns in a year.

Other notable speakers at the Bits & Pretzels conference included Oliver Kahn, a former German soccer star who transitioned into entrepreneurship. The three-day event features founders from national and international companies sharing their success stories, with guest speakers like Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama served as the United States’ First Lady from January 2009 to January 2017 during her husband Barack Obama’s two consecutive terms as President.

In recent months, there has been speculation about Michelle Obama potentially becoming an alternative candidate to Biden, who is 80 years old, in the 2024 presidential race due to concerns over his cognitive abilities. Some prominent Democrats are concerned that Biden might not be able to secure a victory against the resurgent GOP frontrunner, Donald Trump.

Michelle Obama enjoys strong support from the American public, with consistently high approval ratings during her time as First Lady, according to Gallup. A recent YouGov poll indicated that 77 percent of respondents hold a favorable opinion of her, while only 15 percent view her unfavorably.

A June poll by DailyMail.com revealed that 71 percent of Americans, including half of all Democrats, believe Joe Biden is too old to be president. A majority of voters surveyed expressed the view that their situation has worsened since his assumption of power.

Since leaving power, Michelle Obama and her husband have been making some money through speaking engagements as well as a $65 million publishing deal with Penguin for their memoirs, the Daily Mail said.

The Obamas are also behind the production company Higher Ground and signed a multi-year ‘eight-figure’ contract with Netflix in 2018.

Last Edited by:Mildred Europa Taylor Updated: September 26, 2023

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