Barack Obama will be paid $400,000 for his first private speaking engagement

Impact

Barack Obama is living the dream in his presidential retirement.

Since leaving the Oval Office in January, Obama has gone kitesurfing in the Caribbean with Richard Branson, enjoyed a meal with Bono in New York City, traipsed around the South Pacific with his wife and Oprah on David Geffen's luxury yacht and is currently working on his tell-all memoir that reportedly came with a $60-million advance.

So yeah, he's not hard up for cash. But that didn't stop Obama from raking in a reported $400,000 for his first private speaking engagement.

On Monday, Fox Business reported the former commander in chief agreed to speak at a luncheon as part of an upcoming Wall Street conference run by Cantor Fitzgerald LP for the low price of $400,000. According to the outlet, that's about twice as much as Hillary Clinton would fetch for the same event.

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The conference, which will take place in September, will be attended by the very "fat cats" Obama once criticized for their "irresponsible actions" that led to the 2008 financial crisis. 

In a 2009 interview with CBS, Obama said of Wall Street bankers: "You guys are drawing down $10-, $20-million bonuses after America went through the worst economic year that it's gone through in decades, and you guys caused the problem. And we've got 10% unemployment. Why do you think people might be a little frustrated?"

But, as Vice noted, it's relatively normal for former politicians to nab hefty paydays for private speeches. Former president Bill Clinton, for example, was paid $750,000 for a single speech, according to CNN, while George W. Bush reportedly charges between $100,000 and $150,000 per engagement, according to Yahoo