obama begins lucrative turn as wall street speaker
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

during last year's presidential campaign

Obama begins lucrative turn as Wall Street speaker

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Obama begins lucrative turn as Wall Street speaker

Former US president Barack Obama
New York - Arab Today

Barack Obama has begun cashing in on his time in the White House with paid Wall Street speeches less than a year after leaving office, a practice which drew stinging rebukes for Hillary Clinton during last year's presidential campaign.

The former US president will appear Monday before a who's who of the US health care industry at a conference to be held next week by the New York trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.

He will deliver remarks before answering questions from the audience, they said on condition of anonymity. Obama will discuss his signature 2010 health care reform legislation, known as Obamacare, which Republican lawmakers are still working to dismantle after several failed attempts.

According to a person briefed on Obama's planned appearance, he will be paid about $400,000.

In August, Obama addressed a New York gathering held by the Chicago private banking and wealth management firm Northern Trust.

Panelists at that event, according to the firm's website, included billionaire former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, chief Microsoft cybersecurity advisor Jonathan Trull and IBM general manager for "blockchain" technology Marie Wieck.

- 'True to his values' -

Obama received $400,000 for his Northern Trust appearance, according to Bloomberg News, which also reported Monday that the former president had made a similar appearance this month at the private equity behemoth Carlyle Group.

Carlye Group and Northern Trust both declined to comment when contacted by AFP. A spokeswoman for Cantor Fitzgerald confirmed that Obama would attend next week's event but offered no additional details.

The speeches are the first Obama has given to Wall Street since leaving the Oval Office on January 20. Since May, Obama has made paid appearances in Italy, Germany, Scotland, Canada, Indonesia and South Korea.

He is also due to make an appearance later this month in Toronto and to appear at a New York synagogue in January.

"Since leaving office, President Obama has spent his time doing public and private events, both paid and unpaid, that are true to his values and his record," Kevin Lewis, an Obama spokesman, told AFP.

"Consistent with that, his paid speeches in part have allowed president Obama to contribute $2 million to Chicago programs offering job training and employment opportunities to low-income youth."

The appearances nevertheless risk drawing the same criticism that bedevilled Clinton during last year's White House campaign, exposing Obama to barbs from the left of the Democratic Party, which currently has no clear standard bearer.

Clinton has since written she now regrets delivering paid remarks to the investment bank Goldman Sachs and others because it created the impression that she was in their pockets.

Since her defeat, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who are fiercely critical of the financial industry, have taken on more prominent roles in the party.

- Hardly the first -

"Given that (Obama) is probably not going to run for office again, being paid to give speeches by Wall Street firms will not compromise any policy decisions now or in the future," said Randy Albelda, an economist at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

"Still, these type of appearances (and being paid well for them) may tarnish his reputation among a liberal base and bolster the perception that Democrats are the party of the elite."

Wall Street has viewed Obama with some caution. As president, he denounced the financial industry's "reckless practices" while pushing for stricter government oversight.

Still, the Obama administration failed to prosecute a single senior Wall Street banker after the 2008 financial crisis and did not dismantle any of the banks deemed "too big to fail."

Obama is also hardly the first former leader to work the paid speech circuit. Former British premier Tony Blair and former US president Bill Clinton have done so famously.

And in 2013, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy appeared at the annual SkyBridge Alternatives (SALT) conference in Las Vegas, an event spearheaded by President Donald Trump's one-time communications director Anthony Scaramucci.

Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

obama begins lucrative turn as wall street speaker obama begins lucrative turn as wall street speaker

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

obama begins lucrative turn as wall street speaker obama begins lucrative turn as wall street speaker

 



GMT 12:47 2016 Thursday ,01 September

'La La Land' musical masterpiece dazzles Venice film fest

GMT 12:42 2017 Monday ,20 February

Dalia al-Behairy begins 'Yawmiyat Zoga Mafrosa'

GMT 19:01 2017 Wednesday ,30 August

Oil prices down as US reels from Harvey

GMT 04:19 2017 Monday ,08 May

National forces attack mercenaries in Taiz

GMT 19:21 2017 Sunday ,07 May

Iranian Film Week opens in Baghdad

GMT 21:33 2017 Sunday ,30 July

Arab Quartet meeting kicks off in Bahrain

GMT 17:17 2016 Friday ,07 October

Aleppo bleeds as US and Russia spar

GMT 12:03 2015 Monday ,21 December

Nepal protester killed in constitutional crisis clash

GMT 09:47 2016 Thursday ,22 December

Trump vows to cut F-35 spending, as leaked memo

GMT 21:44 2017 Friday ,15 December

King establishes Hawar Development Committee

GMT 20:57 2017 Tuesday ,16 May

Naval Forces rescue 23 tourists in Hurghada

GMT 12:56 2017 Monday ,11 December

Lyon leave it late, Balotelli with Nice winner

GMT 06:18 2017 Thursday ,19 October

Russian delegation meets with Julphar chairman

GMT 21:20 2017 Monday ,23 October

Nasr, delegation of London Stock Exchange

GMT 14:40 2012 Saturday ,10 March

Magdy Al-Galad steps down

GMT 09:47 2017 Sunday ,12 March

Cat Camp in New York attracts cat lovers

GMT 14:57 2016 Friday ,09 September

Madonna, Ritchie settle child custody dispute

GMT 23:52 2017 Monday ,18 September

UAE economic growth boosting logistics sector
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday