American politician and author Barack Obama served two terms as president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Obama, a member of the Democratic Party was the first African American president of the US.
His net worth is estimated to be $70 Million as of 2024. It has to be noted that this is the combined net worth of Obama and his wife Michelle Obama.
We will cover important things about Barack Obama including his career, sources of income, investments, and more in our article below. Read on!
Everything about Barack Obama
Early Life & Education
Barack Hussein Obama II was born in the year 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Barack relocated to Los Angeles post completion of his high school studies in 1979. He attended Occidental College where he earned a full scholarship.
He enrolled for Bachelor’s degree in political science with a specialty in international relations at Columbia University. He then went on to study at Harvard Law School in the fall of 1988. He was the president of the Harvard Law Review during his stint at Harvard.
Political Career
He used to teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for 12 years from 1992 to 2004. Apart from teaching, Barack served as an Illinois state senator for 7 years from 1997 to 2004. He then served in the US Senate for three years from 2005 to 2008.
In 2004, he rose to prominence across the nation when he delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). He then went on to become a rising star in the Democratic party.
In 2007, Barack made the announcement that he will contest US Presidential election. He eventually won the nomination of his party against Hillary Clinton.
He then won the US presidential elections and was elected as the 44th President of the United States in November 2008 by defeating his rival Jon McCain with Joe Biden as his Vice President.
Sources of Income
Barack earned around $30,000 for his work as a professor and state representative between 1991 and 2004. Barack’s income grew phenomenally to $157,100 in the year 2005 when he became a US Senator.
In 1995, Barack released his first book “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance”. It did not take off in the 8 or 9 years until 2004 when he delivered the DNC keynote. His book experienced exponential growth that lead to a huge royalty windfall for the Obama family that was disclosed in the financial position reported in 2005.
The Obamas’ reported an income of $916,000 in the year 2006. Barack then released his second book “Audacity of Hope” in October 2006. It was a huge commercial success and sold millions of copies taking his income to $4.2 million in the year 2007.
Barack and his wife Michelle Obama were paid $60 million in advance for the combined rights to their autobiographies.
Income as US President
During his tenure as US President, Barack Obama’s basic salary was $400,000 per annum.
He was also eligible to access a $150,000 expense account along with a $100,000 tax-free travel account. He used to get around $20,000 per year towards the entertainment budget.
Real Estate investments
Barack and Michelle rented a mansion in Washington D.C. after they left office. They bought the 8,200 square-foot rental in June 2017 for $8.1 million.
Going by 2019 reports, the Obamas were in escrow on a property on Martha’s Vineyard that was worth $14.9 million. It was spread across 29 oceanfront acres of land and the main home was spread across 7,000 square-foot in August 2019.
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