Retired US President: 4 billion salary, 3 billion per speech

President Barack Obama's time in the White House is almost over, but his income may be about to... take a big hit.

Based on the wealth statistics of predecessors such as George W. Bush and Bill Clinton since leaving the White House, Mr. Obama is expected to also earn a huge fortune from speeches, writing books and even pensions.

Mr. Obama, who will step down from the ladder of power on January 20, 2017, has plans for his future and many believe that he will almost certainly use his prestige to continue developing his political career.

Mr. Obama is famous for being an enthusiastic speaker. Photo: Telegraph

"I'm going to go back to what I did before, which is just trying to help people," the 44th President of the United States said last year, according to USA Today. "Helping young people get an education, and helping people get jobs, trying to bring more jobs to areas that need them. That's what I really want to do."

However, Obama, 55 years old, probably does not need to worry much about income security while continuing to contribute to society because his life and his family's can be completely guaranteed from many sources.

Several annual reports, designed to demonstrate the financial transparency of Presidents, show that Mr. Obama's current total assets are worth about $7 million.

After his term ends, with a character who is always highly appreciated for his ability to attract audiences in speeches like Obama, he can completely continue to pursue this activity across the country, as Clinton and Bush did. It is known that since leaving office in 2009, former President Bush has presented at least 200 speeches in the past 6 years and the remuneration for each speech is 100,000 - 175,000 USD (about 2.2-3.9 billion VND).

Obama and his wife. Photo: Telegraph

Bill Clinton and his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, also earned millions of dollars from this activity. It is estimated that the Clintons have earned about $153 million (about 3,450 billion VND) from speeches after leaving the White House in 2001 and since Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy last year. CNN reported that the couple has given 729 more speeches with an average salary of $210,000 (4.7 billion VND) per speech.

Bill Clinton is currently considered the richest former US President.

In addition, the Clintons also earned $29 million from book deals, which Obama will likely do as well or better. The current US President has written two books, including The Audacity of Hope, which won him the Nobel Peace Prize. Sales of the book brought Obama $5.5 million in 2009.

Although not as enthusiastic about making speeches as his two predecessors, the Obama family is certainly still "living well" thanks to the pension under the Former Presidents Act, passed in 1958. While in office, a President is paid $400,000/year and after retirement, their salary is $200,000/year.

According to Vietnamnet.vn