Barack Obama reportedly gets higher fee than Hillary Clinton for a speech at Wall Street bank's event

Former US President Barack Obama faces criticisms for allegedly accepting a fee amounting to $US400,000 ($AU533, 524) from a Wall Street bank in exchange for a speech. The amount is nearly double the fee that Hillary Clinton received for three speeches to Goldman Sachs in 2015, in which she was also criticised.

Obama has reportedly nodded a deal with mid-sized New York-based investment bank, Cantor Fitzgerald LP. A person who has knowledge about the arrangement disclosed that Obama said yes to being a keynote speaker at one of Cantor's events, CNBC noted.

The former POTUS, who used to describe Wall Street bankers as "fat cats,” is said to deliver a speech at the firm's health care conference in September. During his term, he blamed the “completely irresponsible actions on Wall Street” for the financial crisis.

Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf was quick to react about the news of Obama’s alleged paid speech. “Is there an irony here because he spoke incessantly about the income gap and is now earning from those same people he criticized? Yes it is,” he told the New York Post.

Sheinkopf said it is something that should be expected since all former presidents do the same. He pointed that Obama attacked Wall Street, but was now being fed by those who he once called fat cats. The consultant said it was more hypocritical than ironic.

Jonathan Westin, executive director of a non-profit organization called New York Communities for Change, said he was dismayed to learn about the news. For Westin, Obama “doing favours" for big banks feels like depending on the same tactics that have caused mess in the first place.

Cantor’s healthcare conference was launched in New York two years ago. It was described as an opportunity for investors and executives to be introduced. Previous reports claim that Penguin Random House will be paying Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, for global rights to two books that they will write separately.

On Monday, Obama spoke to the public for the first time since he left office. In his speech for the students of University of Chicago, he said the single most important thing he can do is to help prepare the next generation for leadership and take their own crack at changing the world. Obama is yet to make a statement about the speaking deal, which was first reported by Fox Business.

PBS NewsHour/YouTube

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