Cantor Fitzgerald LP will pay former President Barack Obama $400,000 to speak at a conference in September, likely the first of many lucrative Wall Street paydays.
Good for him.
Obama doesn’t really need the money: He earned over $14 million for his first three books, and bidding for his next deal (a package with Michelle) has run over $60 million. But he has every right to cash in on his star power and his hard-won expertise.
No doubt he’ll wind up giving a good chunk of it to charity (though we’d be majorly surprised if he set up anything resembling the Clinton Foundation).
All that said, there is something a bit . . . rich here, given what Obama had to say in a 2010 speech pushing tougher Wall Street regulation:
“We’re not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that’s fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.”
Which makes you wonder when Obama will reach the point where he’s earned enough.