Obama gave Pearson Publishing $350 million to create Commoncore text and Pearson gave Obama a $65 million dollar book deal in return
The Obamas’ $60m book deal has broken all records. From James Patterson to JK Rowling and Pope John Paul II, here are some of their closest rivals.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/01/richest-book-deals-of-all-time-hillary-clinton-james-patterson
From Wiki:
Penguin Random House was formed on July 1, 2013, upon the completion of a £2.4 billion transaction between Bertelsmann and Pearson to merge their respective trade publishing companies, Random House and Penguin Group. Bertelsmann and Pearson, the parent companies, owning 53% and 47%, respectively. In July 2017, Pearson agreed to sell a 22% stake in the business to Bertelsmann, thereby retaining a 25% holding.
That sounds like a classic bribe. You give me this big contract, and I’ll kick back some to you at a later date. Chicago Way. The book cash flowed to Obama in 2017. Pearson, incidentally, seemed to lose money anyway, given the public distaste for Obama’s federal takeover of education via Common Core, which extended to states cutting the program.
President Trump complained about the apparent quid pro quo last summer. It’s not the first time Obama has done things like this, either. IWB notes that Obama’s net neutrality stance benefited Netflix, and surprise, surprise, he got a lucrative deal with Netflix, too.
https://dcdirtylaundry.com/how-barack-obama-paid-for-his-marthas-vineyard-mansion-at-your-childrens-expense/
Pearson’s Bet on Common Core Fails to Pay Off
Big education company miscalculated in its investment in a digital curriculum
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pearsons-bet-on-common-core-fails-to-pay-off-1479830401
Trump calls for probe of Obama book deal
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/454953-trump-calls-for-probe-of-obama-book-deal