Barack Obama’s post-presidency life is way more glamorous than you could imagine.
Back in Washington, President Donald Trump continues to suggest, without proof, that Obama wiretapped him and Republicans are busy trying to dismantle his signature health reform law. Nevertheless, former President Barack Obama is unwinding nicely from the most important job in the world.
He’s been to sunny California for some golf, a private island in the Caribbean, where he kite-surfed with billionaire Richard Branson; he went to New York to take in a Broadway play, and then again, to dine with U2’s Bono.
He lunched in Omaha last week with Warren Buffett and then hopped a flight to California, and then on to Hawaii (more golf). And today, Obama may be sitting pretty, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on a tiny French Polynesian island called Tetiaroa.
There are reports, unconfirmed by CNN, that Obama is going to spend a month on the island, which is north of Tahiti and features only one luxury hotel, aptly named “The Brando” because the Island was once owned by Marlon Brando. The eco-friendly hotel has one-, two- and three-bedroom villas, according to its website. It’s been a favorite destination for more current celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio. Prices range from $2,000 per night, depending on accommodations and date. Their Instagram feed makes the place look quite nice.
An Obama spokesman tells CNN that the former president is now a private citizen and his schedule, therefore, is also private.
Whether or not life after the White House includes an island respite, it also likely now includes writing a book. Penguin Random House last month announced it had won the bidding for memoirs from both Barack and Michelle Obama, a deal that could net the former first couple tens of millions of dollars.
The announcement also indicated the Obamas would donate a “significant portion” of that money to charities, including the Obama Foundation.
When not on vacation, the Obamas are living in Washington; they’ve moved into a posh $5.3 million home in the Kalorama neighborhood of Northwest DC. They intend to stay until their younger daughter, Sasha, graduates high school in 2019. Older daughter, Malia,18, is taking a gap year and scheduled to attend Harvard University this fall.