Since leaving the White House, Barack Obama has continued to do very well for himself financially. The former president released the first volume of his memoir, “A Promised Land,” in November 2020; by December 2020, it had sold 3.3 million copies, becoming one of the top-selling political memoirs in history. Aside from the success of his memoir, Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama also signed a lucrative Netflix deal in 2018.
Celebrity Net Worth reported the former president’s net worth as $70 million. According to an estimate by Analytics@American, American University’s business analytics program, however, Barack and Michelle Obama could make as much as $242.5 million post-presidency.
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Net worth: $70 million
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Date of birth: Aug. 4, 1961
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Primary sources of wealth: Presidential salary and pension, book and Netflix deals
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Career highlights: Former president, Nobel Peace Prize
Barack Obama’s Net Worth: $70 Million
Obama has an estimated net worth of $70 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, in part due to earning $400,000 a year throughout his entire eight-year term as president of the United States. On April 15, 2016, Obama released his 2015 tax returns, which showed that the former president and Michelle Obama filed jointly and reported an adjusted gross income of $436,065. They paid $81,472 in taxes according to their 18.7% tax rate. They also donated a total of $64,066 to more than 30 charities.
A Timeline of Barack Obama’s Wealth
How did Obama grow his fortune? Here’s a timeline of his accomplishments that have added to his earnings over the years, as chronicled by Business Insider:
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2004: He earned a salary of $80,287 from the Illinois Senate and $32,144 from the University of Chicago Law School, where he lectured. Obama also had investments in three different assets — including the Vanguard Wellington Fund — evaluated between $100,000 and $200,000.
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2005: Obama received a multi-book deal with Random House and was given a $1.9 million advance after January 2005 for “The Audacity of Hope,” plus royalties, following his appearance at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He also earned just over $847,000 that year from another book advance for “Dreams From My Father,” plus $378,237 from additional book royalties.
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2006: Obama reported book royalties for “Dreams From My Father” of a little less than $150,000, plus $425,000 from royalties for “The Audacity of Hope.”
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2007: Obama earned almost $3.3 million from Random House book royalties and almost $816,000 from Dystel & Goderich for “Dreams From My Father.” He acquired U.S. Treasury notes valued between $500,000 and $1 million, and he invested in two 529 college savings plans — valued at between $50,000 and $100,000 each to start — for his daughters.
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2008: When Obama was elected president, he owned somewhere between $1.1 million and $5.1 million in U.S. Treasury bills.
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2009: Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, which came with a $1.4 million award. He donated it to a number of different charities.
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2009-2015: Obama earned $400,000 a year as president and continued to earn book royalties, as well as interest on his investments.
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2016-2017: Newsweek reported that Obama’s annual pension after leaving the White House is more than $200,000. He has also received fees as large as $400,000 for public speaking events. The Obamas also signed a book deal together with Penguin Random House reportedly worth more than $65 million for two books — one written by each member of the power couple.
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2018: The Obamas founded Higher Ground Productions and signed a production deal with Netflix.
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2020: Barack Obama released his latest book, “A Promised Land.” The book is part of an unprecedented $65 million deal that also included Michelle Obama’s memoir.