Barrack and Michelle Obama sign $60 million book deal for rights to their new memoirs
Just before leaving the White House, Obama revealed that he will rest
and then write after he leaves office. Now, only weeks after leaving,
the former president and his wife, Michelle, who are working separately
on their new books have gotten an unbelievable, unprecedented book deal
worth $60million.The
right to their book was purchased by Penguin Random House in a joint
publishing deal. Reports from The Financial Times reveal that bidding
had surpassed $60million, however, the Obama's chose the Penguin because
they had published Barrack's previous three memoirs.
This $60million deal signed by the Obamas is the biggest any author has
ever been paid for a single book. It overshadows the $15million Bill
Clinton received for his memoir My Life, the $10million deal George W.
Bush got for Decision Points, the $14million Hillary Clinton got for her
book Hard Choices and the $500,000 Donald Trump received for his book
The Art of the Deal.
It even surpasses the $15million Barrack earned from all three of his
previous books (Dreams from My Father released in 2004, The Audacity of
hope, released in 2006 and a children's book, Of Thee I Sing: A Letter
to My Daughters, released in 2010).
A large portion of the book deal price is for Michelle's memoir,
especially because this will be the very first she will ever release,
thereby making her deal the highest amount ever paid for a literary
debut in history. It is believed that her book will be a huge success
considering that many around the world are undoubtedly eager to hear
about her life prior to and while in the White House.
As part of the deal, Penguin will donate $1million to a charity in Obamas' name.
Speaking about the deal, the chief executive of Penguin Random House,
Markus Dohle, revealed in a statement that he was thrilled to continue
their partnership with Obama.
"We are absolutely thrilled to continue our publishing partnership with President and Mrs. Obama. With their words and their leadership, they changed the world, and every day, with the books we publish at Penguin Random House, we strive to do the same."
Dohle continued:
"Now, we are very much looking forward to working together with President and Mrs. Obama to make each of their books global publishing events of unprecedented scope and significance."
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