Obama Goes From White House to Wall Street in Less Than One Year
sep 18 2017 Hillary Clinton says she made a mistake when she gave speeches on Wall Street after leaving government. Taking money from banks, she writes in her new memoir, created the impression she was in their pocket.
Her old boss doesnāt seem to share her concern.
Last month, just before her book āWhat Happenedā was published, Barack Obama spoke in New York to clients of Northern Trust Corp. for about $400,000, a person familiar with his appearance said. Last week, he reminisced about the White House for Carlyle Group LP, one of the worldās biggest private equity firms, according to two people who were there. Next week, heāll give a keynote speech at investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald LPās health-care conference.
Obama is coming to Wall Street less than a year after leaving the White House, following a path thatās well trod and well paid. While he canāt run for president, he continues to be an influential voice in a party torn between celebrating and vilifying corporate power. His new work with banks might suggest which side of the debate heāll be on and disappoint anyone expecting him to avoid a trap that snared Clinton. Or, as some of his executive friends see it, heās just a private citizen giving a few paid speeches to other successful people while writing his next book.