Shortly after Barack Obama delivered his first (free) speech today since leaving the White House in Chicago before an invitation-only crowd of college students, community organizers and other fans, Fox News' Charlie Gasparino reports that in what may be his first paid speaking arrangement, Obama will be paid $400,000 to speak at Cantor Fitzgerald's healthcare conference this September, setting the benchmark for how much an hour of the former president's time will cost going forward.

#BREAKING @BarackObama has agreed to speak at Cantor Fitzgerald’s health care conference for $400,000! I discuss NOW on @FoxNews! — Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) April 24, 2017

Obama, who spent years bashing big banks (even if, like Trump, ultimately achieved nothing to halt Wall Street's dominance) will deliver the keynote address at the organization's lunch in what will be one of his first paid speeches.

"What sources are telling FOX Business Network is that former President Obama, now less than 100 days out of office, has agreed to a speaking engagement during Cantor Fitzgerald’s healthcare conference in September," FBN's Gasparino said. "We understand that he is going to be the keynote speaker for the lunch, and he’s going to receive a fee of $400,000. We should point out that that’s in line with what Hilary Clinton got... we should point out that Cantor will neither confirm or deny."



Actually Charlie is off: based on our data, the average Hillary Clinton speech averaged just over $200,000.



Obama's speech is, however, in the ballpark for what Bill Clinton charged initially, even though the fee gradually declined over time.

The former Democratic community organizer and Illinois senator has focused his nearly 100 days out of office on relaxing at various locations around the globe and planning for his foundation's library and community center in Chicago.

Two months ago, Penguin Random House won an auction to publish the first book by the Obamas since leaving office for a record price of $60 million. The sum was four times greater than the $15 million Bill Clinton received from Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House, for his 2004 memoirs My Life when he left the White House. George W Bush made an estimated $10 million from his book Decision Points.