Barack Obama Memoir Could Pull In Biggest Payday For Post-Presidency Memoir In History

The bidding has begun on a Barack Obama memoir and it looks like the 44th POTUS might be looking at a really impressive payday for writing about his time in office. Obama has authored a few books before being elected president. When discussing what he planned to do upon leaving the White House, Obama said that he wants to write a book.

Forbes reported that Barack Obama’s memoir could earn him more than any other president before him. It was also reported that the advance alone would be at least $20 million. Citing Esther Newberg, co-head of IBM Partners publishing, estimates for what the former president could make when publishing his own memoir are based on the numbers from books he has already published coupled with the public’s continued fascination with him.

Barack Obama has already written and published Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream and Of Thee I Sing: A Letter To My Daughters. Those three books have already sold 4 million copies combined and have brought in more than $10 million in sales.

While Random House is expected to publish the Barack Obama memoir, it wouldn’t be surprising if a bidding war over the book began. Certainly, other publishers will at least want to try to get in on the presidential memoir action.

“Not only was he the first African-American president and hugely popular, he’s already shown us that he can, in fact, write,” Newberg told Forbes. “And, he’ll look like the King of Siam next to Trump.”

It has already been predicted that Barack Obama will go on to publish books now that he is no longer the commander in chief. The New York Times reported that if Obama signs a 2 to 3 book deal, he stands to earn up to $30 million. Additionally, the report claims that Michelle Obama may be able to make a pretty good income from writing her own memoir as well. She stands to become the highest paid former first lady with a memoir if she is interested.

Barack Obama stands to break the record held by Bill Clinton for the highest paid past president to publish a memoir. Clinton clocks in at a paltry $15 million and sold 2.2 million copies, which is the standing record for presidential memoirs. Obama could blow past that number if he does, indeed, collect a $20 million advance for his work. For further comparison, George W. Bush’s Decision Points earned him $7 million and sold 2.6 million copies.

It looks like Barack Obama is already onboard to make a memoir one of his first orders of business now that he’s no longer the leader of the free world. Obama has already tapped the former White House director of speechwriting Cody Keenan to assist in the project and he is represented by lawyer Bob Barnett.

In addition to writing bestsellers, Barack Obama has said that in his post-presidency, he would really like to become a venture capitalist and he also wants to be a part-owner of an NBA team. With a Barack Obama memoir among the projects that Obama supporters can look forward to, it won’t be long before Barack should be able to achieve all of his dreams, even the one about not having to remove his shoes during airport screenings.

Would you be interested in reading a Barack Obama memoir if it were to hit bookshelves in the next couple of years? Tell us what you think of the possible huge payday for Obama if he chooses to sign a book deal and start writing.

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