Barack Obama slammed for agreeing $400,000 fee to speak to 'Wall Street fat cats'

Barack Obama has come under fire for reportedly accepting a $400,000 (£310,000) invitation from a Wall Street Bank to speak at an upcoming event.

The former US president, who made his first public appearance since leaving the White House this week when he visited the University of Chicago, is expected to speak at a healthcare conference for Cantor Fitzgerald in September 2017, the BBC reported.

And the substantial fee for his time has recalled the same criticism levelled at former presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, who was slammed for her links to Wall Street during the election campaign.

Indeed, in October 2016, Wikileaks released more than 2,000 emails that it claimed were from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta. Correspondence showed concerns over comments Clinton made – during paid-for appearances at Wall Street firms – being made public and used against her.

Obama's appearance at Cantor Fitzgerald – which lost a significant portion of its workforce in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center – will see him paid almost double the fee Clinton commanded for her talks at Goldman Sachs in 2015.

However, Obama's decision to do so has come under fire – particularly from those recalling his 2009 statement to CBS that he did not run for office "to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street".

Obama has not released a statement on his forthcoming speech, nor is it clear which subject he has been invited to discuss.