Barack Obama Net Worth, Biography and Career

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admin February 26, 2020
Updated 2020/02/26 at 10:33 AM
Barack Obama Net Worth
President Barack Obama is photographed during a presidential portrait sitting for an official photo in the Oval Office, Dec. 6, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Barack Obama is a former President of the United States and the 44th in history. Born to a black Kenyan father and a white American mother, he is the first African-American to hold office.

Barack Obama’s Early Life

Barack Hussein Obama II was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961, to Barack Obama Sr. and Stanley Ann Dunham. While his father was a black Kenyan, his mother was a white American, mostly of English ancestry. His parents separated while he was just an infant so he had to live with his maternal grandparents while his single mom completed her education.

Educational History

Barack Obama completed his high school education in 1979 before moving to LA to attend Occidental College. He transferred to Columbia College in Columbia University, New York in 1981. In college, he majored in political science and specialized in international relations. He graduated with a B.A degree in 1983.

Barack Obama went on to work as a community organizer for low-income residents in Roseland and the Altgeld Gardens communities from June 1985 to May 1988, after which he entered Harvard Law School and got his J.D. magna cum laude in 1991.

As a student, Barack Obama served as president of Harvard Law Review, and being elected as the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review got national media attention.

Barack Obama’s Career

After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1991, Barack Obama took up a part-time teaching job at the University of Chicago Law School as a lecturer in and eventually became a Senior Lecturer four years later. He joined Miner, Barnhill & Galland firm to practice as a lawyer of civil rights. He served as an associate for a short period of three years from 1993 to 1996, then as counsel for two years from 1996 to 2004.

Politics

Barack decided to venture into politics and was successful when he ran for the Illinois State senate seat as a Democrat in 1996. He projected a law that increased tax credits for workers on a low income, promoted increased subsidies for childcare, and negotiated welfare reform. He was elected again in 1998 and in 2002 after that.

When he decided to run for the United States Senate in 2004 he won in an unexpected landslide in the primaries. He gained popularity after delivering the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention of 2004. On January 3, 2005, he was sworn in as a senator.

As the Senator, Barack Obama introduced the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act and cosponsored Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act. He also sponsored Iran Sanctions Enabling Act and also projected an amendment to Defense Authorization Act to add safeguards for personality-disorder military discharges.

A man of ambitions and a successful political figure in the United States, the very confident Barack Obama decided to run for the presidency and thereby announced his candidacy for United States President in 2007. He was selected as Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

In the elections, Barack Obama defeated John McCain the Republican presidential nominee in the U.S presidential election on November 4, 2008. Barack Obama received a total of 365 electoral votes as compared to the 173 electoral votes received by John McCain. His running mate, Joe Biden a Delaware Senator, became vice president.

On January 20, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. He assumed the post at a period when the economy of America was in chaos, amidst of a severe global recession.

He set to work instantly and started to implement financial reforms to cut down the national debt while focusing on the health care and education system in the country as well. His main priority was to stabilize the economy of America which had gotten a beating during the global recession.

In order to help the recovery of the economy from the recession, Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was a $787 billion economic stimulus package that included increased federal spending for good education, quality healthcare, infrastructure, various tax break, and incentives.

He further stressed innovation economics importance to making the U.S. more competitive worldwide in his 2011 State Union Address. That same year, he authorized the Budget Control Act in a deliberate attempt to control the spending of the government and prevent the government from defaulting on its financial obligations.

Barack Obama assumed the position of president at a time of political turbulence and handled military and security issues during his time as president. He endorsed the raid on what was suspected to be the hiding place of Osama bin Laden, the founder and then leader of al-Qaeda, in Pakistan.

The operation which was conducted by the U.S. Navy SEALs on 1 May 2011 led to the death of Osama bin Laden and the seizure of documents, computer drives, and disks from the location where he was hiding.

In his first term as president, Obama supported same-sex marriages and actively fought for the right of a woman to make her own health decisions. He made college education cheaper for millions of students. All these implementations accompanied by the pivotal role he played in aiding the American economy to recover from the recession and in controlling terrorism made the president extremely respected and popular.

In the 2012 presidential election when he faced Republican opponent Mitt Romney, Barack Obama came out victorious and was sworn in for a second term in January 2013. In his second term as president, he called for full equality for LGBT Americans and sought to normalize U.S. relations with Cuba.

Barack Obama’s presidential term came to an end on January 20, 2017. He currently resides in Washington, D.C

Accomplishments & Honors

Barack Obama has been ranked as the 8th greatest American President. He has twice received the Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album.
In 2009, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2008 and later in 2012 Time magazine named him as its Person of the Year.

Personal Life & Legacy

When Barack Obama was working as an associate at Chicago Law School he met Michelle Robinson in June 1989. They started dating and got engaged in 1991, and tied the knot on 3 October 1992. The couple has two daughters – Malia Ann Obama and Natasha Obama. The family currently resides in Washington, D.C, along with their Portuguese Water dogs,  Bo and Sunny.

Barack Obama Net Worth

Barack Obama net worth has been earned from his modest profession and also from his salary while serving as the first African-American president of the United States of America. During the initial years of his career, Obama made just enough money to enjoy a comfortable life from his occupation as a civil rights attorney and law school teacher.

The former president joined the league of millionaires by dint of royalties he got from sales of his best-selling memoir titled Dreams from My Father. It has been estimated that his official annual salary while serving in office is close to the mark of half a million.

Barrack Obama’s finances have ensured a comfortable lifestyle for him and his family. Obama loves to drive around in luxurious cars and owns quite a few of them like a Chrysler 300C and a 2005 model Ford Escape Hybrid. A luxurious mansion in Chicago served as his family’s personal residence before moving to the White House.

Barack Obama net worth is estimated at $72 million. He has devoted his time to supporting non-profit organizations and charitable causes.

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