Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 11-23-18

The Obamas
Barack Obama Makes Surprise Appearance During Michelle’s Book Tour
Barack Obama made a cameo during Michelle Obama’s book tour stop in Washington, D.C., Saturday night.
The former president walked onto the stage with a bouquet of flowers for his wife, who’s promoting her new memoir, ‘Becoming’, and the crowd went nuts.
Barack Obama com- pared his entrance to what he imagines it’s like for Jay-Z and Beyoncé. “This is like, you know, when Jay-Z comes out during the Beyoncé con- cert,” the former president said. “Like, ‘Crazy in Love’?”
He spoke about falling in love with Michelle and how, early on, she tried to set him up with some of her friends, whom he says he was not in- terested in.
“Don’t go there,” Michelle Obama chimed in, which drew laughter from the crowd.
The former first lady’s so- cial media team captured some of the moments on her Instagram account, including shots of Michelle Obama at the end of the event dancing to “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” by Stevie Won- der.
Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ Memoir Sells Over 725,000 Copies On First Day Of Release
Michelle Obama new memoir is already a literary force and it hasn’t been out a full week. ‘Becoming’ sold more than 725,000 copies on its first day making it one of the most successful book re- leases of the year, Crown Pub- lishing, Obama’s literary house, revealed to the Associ- ated Press Friday (Nov. 16).
The sales figures include pre-sale orders, according to the publishing house. Crown will push an additional 800,000 copies of ‘Becoming’ into print raising the number of copies to 2.6 million. The memoir also gave Random House, Crown’s parent com- pany, its largest debut sales numbers of 2018.
The former first lady re- leased ‘Becoming’ on Tuesday (Nov. 13), along with a na- tional book tour that kicked off in her hometown of Chicago. The book chronicles the Har- vard Law School graduate’s lifelong “experiences that have shaped her,” from growing up
Becoming: An Intimate Conversation With Michelle Obama.
in Chicago to her two terms as the first lady, and shares de- tails about her marriage to President Barack Obama. The memoir is the first from the Obama family since the former POTUS ended his term in the White House in 2016.
“Writing ‘BECOMING’ has been a deeply personal experi- ence,” Mrs. Obama said in a statement earlier in the year.
“It has allowed me, for the very first time, the space to honestly reflect on the unexpected tra- jectory of my life. In this book, I talk about my roots and how a little girl from the South Side of Chicago found her voice and developed the strength to use it to empower others. I hope my journey inspires readers to find the courage to become whoever they aspire to be.”
Barack And Michelle Obama ‘Becoming’ Billionaires?
The launch of the Forever First Lady’s cross- country book tour for her new memoir, ‘Becom- ing’, last week is already proven to be a hit, with sold-out stadiums across the country and books flying off the shelves at bookstores, according to the New York Post. Michelle Obama earned a $65 million book advance and on top of this, se- cured an estimated $50 million deal with Netflix, which she shares with husband Barack Obama.
When you throw in products associated with her autobiography, including T-shirts and mugs, speaker fees for both Michelle and Barack, and a 10-city U.S. tour promoting the book, it is easy to see how the former first lady and president are well on their way to becoming billionaires.
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According to the New York Post, Michelle Obama is currently commanding $225,000 per corporate and non-profit speaker appearance. Barack Obama currently earns $400,000 per speech, and made at least $1.2 million for three talks to Wall Street firms in 2017. The fees come on top of his $207,800 annual presidential pen- sion, which he began receiving as soon as he left office.
According to Forbes, the Obamas made $20.5 million in salaries and book royalties be- tween 2005 and 2016. They are now worth more than $135 million – which doesn’t include the public speaking earnings, according to the New York Post.
In October 2017, Michelle was a keynote speaker at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women, a non-profit that promotes education and networking. She also did an on-stage inter- view with Hollywood producer and writer
Former U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama participate in the un- veiling of their official portraits during a cere- mony at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, on February 12, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Since leaving the White House, Barack and Michelle Obama are proving they have the Midas touch.
Shonda Rhimes in Philadelphia for an audi- ence of 12,000.
The Harry Walker Agency Inc., the New York- based agency that books the Obamas for speak- ing gigs, billed the Pennsylvania Conference for Women $225,000 in 2017, according to the non- profit’s most recent tax filings.
Former President Barack Obama ad- dressed a health care conference organized by fi- nancial services company Cantor Fitzgerald a couple of years ago. In addition to that $400,000, the former president earned $800,000 for two speeches he gave to Northern Trust Corp and the Carlyle Group.
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