You won’t believe what the Obama’s book deal is worth
After eight exhausting years as the leader of the free world, you’d be forgiven for thinking Barack Obama would be looking for an opportunity to put his feet up. But if the size of his recently announced book deal is anything to go by, the former president still has plenty of nights burning the midnight oil ahead of him.
Mr Obama and his wife Michelle have ended a heated bidding war between publishers, signing a two-book deal with Penguin Random house believed to be worth $78 million. The agreement will see them both write a book with the publisher, charting their experiences in the White House and reflections on that period.
“We are absolutely thrilled to continue our publishing partnership with President and Mrs. Obama,” Markus Dohle, the chief executive of Penguin Random House, said in a statement.
“With their words and their leadership, they changed the world, and every day, with the books we publish at Penguin Random House, we strive to do the same. Now, we are very much looking forward to working together with President and Mrs. Obama to make each of their books global publishing events of unprecedented scope and significance.”
While $78 million might seem like an astronomical sum, presidential memoirs are generally automatic bestsellers, and books penned by first ladies are just as popular. For example, Hillary Clinton's memoir Living History sold a whopping one million copies in the first month following its publication.
In true Obama style, the philanthropic pair plan to donate a large portion of their advances to their charity, the Obama Foundation.
What’s you take? Do you think it’s too much money? Are you excited to read the book?
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