Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ may be best-selling memoir ever
Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s memoir, “Becoming,” might be the best-selling memoir ever.
On Tuesday, German media group Bertelsmann – which owns Penguin Random House – reported a 1.8 percent annual gain in revenue, citing Obama’s book as its “most creative success of last year.”
“We believe this could become the most successful memoir ever,” Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe said during a news conference, as reported by multiple outlets.
The book has sold around 10 million copies – which includes print, digital and audiobook sales across the globe. Its chief executive told The Wall Street Journal that he was not aware of another memoir that it had ever sold that many copies of.
“Becoming,” which details Obama’s journey from childhood through her role in the White House, quickly became a best-seller – it received more pre-orders than any other adult book since 2015. The tome was released in November.
Obama reportedly received an advance of $60 million for the book and is currently on an extremely popular global book tour, with notable celebrity guest features – including Oprah and actress Reese Witherspoon.
Meanwhile, the publisher has another potential blockbuster to look forward to from President Barack Obama. The powerhouse political pair signed a joint deal with the publisher, which said it hopes the former president’s memoir will be released later this year – though no firm date has been set.
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As previously reported by FOX Business, the Obamas plan to donate a large portion of the profits from their book sales to charity.
In addition to the book deals, the Obamas signed a multi-year agreement with Netflix to create content for the streaming platform. They are expected to create a mix of content that potentially includes scripted and unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features.