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Cashin' in: Obama reportedly signs eye-popping speaking deal with group he criticized in White House
Reports indicate former President Barack Obama will make $400,000 when he speaks to a group of Wall Street bankers during a luncheon at a health care conference in September. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Cashin' in: Obama reportedly signs eye-popping speaking deal with group he criticized in White House

It will take former President Barack Obama just one speech to earn in dollars what it took him one year to make as president.

According to a Fox Business report, Obama is slated to earn $400,000 for a single speech when he addresses a group of Wall Street bankers at a health care conference in September.

Obama will serve as the keynote speaker for a luncheon hosted by Cantor Fitzgerald LP, a mid-sized New York investment bank, sources told Fox Business. Obama’s team has not yet confirmed the speech, and Cantor’s people told Fox Business they are wrapping up the details before they announce, but Obama has signed the contract to speak.

It will be the first scheduled paid speech of Obama’s post-White House career.

Many believed Obama would hit the speaking circuit post-presidency, but it wasn’t known just how much he would command for speeches. If Fox Business’ report is correct, Obama stands to make about twice that of what former President Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton typically make for a single speech.

The speech to Wall Street bankers also puts Obama at odds with political positions he took during his presidency. The former president routinely bashed Wall Street for its greed and lavish lifestyle while Americans suffered with high unemployment and economic uncertainty. Following the 2008 financial crisis, Obama pushed Wall Street reform and demanded accountability from the big banks, who he targeted as the cause of the “great recession."

Obama famously said in an interview with “60 Minutes” in 2009: "I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street."

Still, the speaking fee shows that Obama may well accumulate hundreds of millions of dollars in his post-presidency career. In addition to being able to command speaking fees in the range of $400,000 to $500,000, or possibly more, Obama and wife Michelle reportedly signed a book deal in excess of $65 million with Penguin Random House earlier this year for their post-White House memoirs.

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