What do these people have to say that could be worth that?

Come on, now.

but hopefully he will get more if/when he does speeches for larger businesses like goldman sachs . it should be in the millions .

Because....someone said so. This rag on Obama for 400k speech is so boggus.

Think of how much flak the Clintons got for the same sort of thing.

I don't understand the extreme animosity towards them. But outside of the Clintons (specifically Hillary) and Obama, it appears to be a different standard. As noted over and over in the media.

But, yes. Race has a hand in this. For a president not in office, he is STILL being attacked relentlessly. I think it is because he has incredible popularity ratings.... And he is black. Racism is a big problem... on every level. And it rears its ugly head more and more. Sometimes, recognizing it is liked pointing out a negative. And unless it happens TO YOU, most people don't see it.

And maybe "zero to do with it" is too extreme. I just think he would be getting flak if he was white as well (as the Clintons do/did).

We clearly have NOT "come a long way, baby". The sexism transcends all color lines and it is heart breaking. I think I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Hillary is SO HATED because she is a strong, smart woman in this day and age.

So, yes. While she is white, she is a powerful woman... And that, I feel, is far WORSE in the eyes of many.

for Donald Trump for each of 17 speeches at the Learning Annex real estate wealth Expo in 2006 and 2007. Talk about your pump and dump. Real estate promotion prior to the 2008 crash.

https://www.forbes.com/2008/03/18/trump-reagan-blair-biz-media-cx_lh_0318speeches_slide_2.html?thisspeed=20000

Also Reagan's $2M payday from Japan in 1989.

Is anyone who is being critical of Obama, giving a pass to Bill Clinton - $450,000 for the Fortune Forum in 2006.

Not naming names... but they will try to make the Dems look like money hungry pigs so they can take over and be the only "good" option.

and we live in a celebrity obsessed culture, where celebrity itself (even if devoid of talent) is a scarce resource in heavy demand.

And someone like Hillary or Obama are not just celebs and not just politicians, but also historically significant figures, and thus are paid for that very essence/value it carries to upscale audiences.

Just curious how often he pulls that in. Do that once a week, that would be $15M. That would be more than Britney makes.

A Milo must pull in that much for an appearance. A Beyoncé or Yeezy must pull in 10-100x that.

I went to a Louie CK charity show recently. 1500 seat theatre. $50 tickets. Multiple comedians. Even if no one was paid for security, ticketing, venue, etc. 4 tickets were left unsold. Even if there were no comp or house tickets....that would only have pulled in $75k for a multi hour appearance.

while he was with britney and the celeb gossip tabloids etc wanted any news on them.

but i doubt he gets anything like that now and he probably didn't back then either.

And Leonardo DiCaprio at $300K.

And Keanu Reeves at $250-350K.

Do you think ANY of them should make close to what Barack Obama should make?

what they get depends on many things but mostly it's about the audience and attention .

if it's about selling tickets clinton or obama will usually sell more than bush.

even though bush was more pro big business the companies still know it's better to associate with a clinton or obama than bush.

hillary duff probalby does things like perform at rich kid's birthdays .

and the right wing hates him because he is black.

They hate Hillary even more and she is white.

He's pretty good

How else do we explain the fact that Robert Downey Jr is worth north of 200 million dollars?

I still remember when he was best known for running through stranger's backyards as high as a kite.

I mean you just can't.

Dictionary.com

noun, plural celebrities for 1.
1.
a famous or well-known person.
2.
fame; renown.

And he is a pretty popular speaker.

As in: "He is a pretty, popular speaker"

But I think I had it right, in that "pretty" was modifying "popular".

As in: "He is fairly popular"

Though what he said was literally true.

It isn't a sign of special virtue that he's merely doing the thing the law requires. We'll see what happens when and if he ever retires.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/apr/20/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-ad-ignores-fact-members-congress-ca/

Senators and representatives have been prohibited from accepting money for speeches since 1991. Before then, members of Congress would often accept speaking fees from the industries they oversaw, which critics characterized as a form of bribery.

And it's not just members of Congress. In the House, for example, even senior staff can't be paid for speeches, appearances or writing an article. Junior staff also can't do it if the topic relates to their official duties.

The executive branch has a similar ban.

But once a person leaves government service, those rules no longer apply, and they're free to charge for speeches.

If he Bernie starts taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees after he retires, then he would be quite the hypocrite in my opinion.

If K Fed can get $300k for an appearance, Joanie should get at least double that.

Seems to really increase someone's marketability well beyond just being an actor (or mediocre musician in K Fed's case).

or Hillary Duff?

I'm ok with Obama collecting large fees. They should be larger imo, much larger.

I'm just not ok with an article that reduces a pillar of society down to that of an "entertainer". In fact I remember a highly offensive McCain commericial in 2008 that did exactly the same thing.

I don't care about entertainers. If President Obama donates the money to charity, then I am ok with speeches before groups that have a mission statement, such as healthcare systems and dynamics - but the President should be clear the money goes to charity.

I, as a citizen, would rather former President write books, because then we get a look into how democracy works at that level.

the same laws that apply to all citizens.

They are obviously not in a position to create law anymore.

I have no problem with them getting speaking fees, especially considering the huge numbers there other people are bringing in.

I doubt either of them are speaking before investment bankers because of their past roles.

Obama is now a past President and is free to accept honorariums from any group he chooses.

And in the case, he is speaking at a healthcare conference on a topic he has special knowledge about.