{"id":1884,"date":"2026-05-19T15:43:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/19\/many-billionaires-are-not-happy-people-michelle-obama-talks-politics-and-going-a-little-low-in-first-australian-event\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:43:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:43:06","slug":"many-billionaires-are-not-happy-people-michelle-obama-talks-politics-and-going-a-little-low-in-first-australian-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=1884","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Many billionaires are not happy people\u2019: Michelle Obama talks politics and going \u2018a little low\u2019 in first Australian event"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"e593c129-f050-4011-b6f2-6fa6f48b05f4\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Michelle Obama pictured at a speaking event in Atlanta, Georgia in 2019.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/760b598583ae14333447d7724c7115f6d0d894d5\/447_0_3926_3142\/master\/3926.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.142129393785\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Michelle Obama pictured at a speaking event in Atlanta, Georgia in 2019. The former first lady will speak in Sydney on Thursday and Friday.<\/span> Photograph: Paras Griffin\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"e593c129-f050-4011-b6f2-6fa6f48b05f4\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Michelle Obama pictured at a speaking event in Atlanta, Georgia in 2019. The former first lady will speak in Sydney on Thursday and Friday.<\/span> Photograph: Paras Griffin\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">\u2018Many billionaires are not happy people\u2019: Michelle Obama talks politics and going \u2018a little low\u2019 in first Australian event<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-b3fmmo\">\n<p>Former first lady delivered veiled but sharp remarks on US politics during speaking tour that began in Melbourne<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-15rw6c2\">I<\/span>t was a curious question: who was going to pay $895 (US$640, \u00a3476) to see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/michelleobama\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Michelle Obama<\/a> speak at 12.30pm on a Tuesday in Melbourne? While she is an indisputably excellent public speaker, the ticket prices for Obama\u2019s first-ever speaking event in Australia raised a few eyebrows, ranging from the $895 \u201cplatinum\u201d package (which promised a priority seat, an \u201cexclusive\u201d brunch, and a \u201ccommemorative lanyard and tote bag\u201d) to the cheapest seats at $195 a pop.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A sign that expectations may have been bigger than our wallets in a cost-of-living crisis: two weeks ago, my \u201ccheap\u201d seat at the back was suddenly upgraded to a much better spot due to \u201ca recent change in production requirements\u201d that was left unexplained. Another: the visibly empty patches at the front of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/melbourne\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Melbourne<\/a> Convention and Exhibition Centre.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"f80ed7f7-243d-4693-9711-52dbf3773d06\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-2 | 2\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1bg5532\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/ng-interactive\/2026\/may\/06\/how-to-survive-the-information-crisis-we-once-talked-about-fake-news-now-reality-itself-feels-fake\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">How to survive the information crisis: \u2018We once talked about fake news \u2013 now reality itself feels fake\u2019<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">None of this is a reflection on Obama herself, who still managed to lure a sizeable crowd on a weekday afternoon. Her speaking tour, which only reaches Melbourne and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/sydney\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Sydney<\/a>, has been organised by Growth Faculty, a company that stages events about workplace leadership \u2013 so it wasn\u2019t all that surprising when host Annabel Crabb opened by saying she would not ask Obama about current politics, because, Crabb claimed, \u201cthat is a convention that former first ladies don\u2019t comment on\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cAnd what else is there to say? I\u2019m sorry?\u201d Obama said jokingly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The former first lady never shied away from delivering veiled but sharp remarks on current politics. When Crabb quoted the former Australian senator Amanda Vanstone as saying, \u201cThink of the dumbest guy you know in politics\u201d, Obama interjected with: \u201cEveryone, close your eyes. Just imagine! Hmmm.\u201d The applause and laughter of the crowd almost drowned out the rest of the quote. (\u201cWhen a woman that dumb can succeed in politics, that\u2019s equality.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Asked how she felt her famed catchphrase, \u201cWhen they go low, we go high\u201d, resonated now when so many prominent figures seem to benefit from openly terrible behaviour, Obama said, \u201cYou know those folks aren\u2019t happy. You don\u2019t show up like that in the world and have that not eating away at your soul.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<li class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2021\/dec\/21\/sign-up-for-five-great-reads-guardian-australias-wrap-of-our-best-summer-stories\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">She said she hoped to teach children today that accumulating wealth and assets was not a measure of happiness and self-worth. \u201cIt is not. I know plenty of billionaires, many of them are not happy people in the world. They\u2019ve got a lot of stuff \u2013 but that\u2019s what they focus on, just accumulating stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI guess I don\u2019t agree with the fact that they are getting away with all of this and it seems to be fine. It isn\u2019t fine. None of this is fine,\u201d she added. \u201cNobody\u2019s happy. We don\u2019t feel better. No one is feeling better. I can see that and feel that. So going low doesn\u2019t work \u2026 Our economy isn\u2019t better. We\u2019re seeing a lot of injustice and unfairness happening in the world. Our kids are feeling a level of depression. We are worried more about the cost of living. Things are not better. It\u2019s not working.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"4e81c026-c971-467a-b46c-46a5e7023618\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Barack and Michelle Obama stand with Donald Melania Trump\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/1d1ac049dda5d636228dedd91f2e422f317699e5\/0_0_3500_2333\/master\/3500.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.62428571428575\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"4e81c026-c971-467a-b46c-46a5e7023618\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Barack and Michelle Obama stand with Donald and Melania Trump during the 2017 presidential inauguration.<\/span> Photograph: Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Obama said that the racist abuse directed at her during her time in the White House, and the severe criticism of even the most benign initiatives she spearheaded, such as promoting healthy eating among children, meant she had to \u201cbuild up an armour\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThat\u2019s what I don\u2019t like about politics,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not honest. It\u2019s not true \u2026 right now, the current administration has just launched an entire initiative around health and obesity. The same administration that criticised me and called me the nanny state and told me to stay away from fast food and get out of people\u2019s menus \u2026 it was never real. Understanding that, putting it aside, and just doing the work is what I had to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-ri3hap\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But, she admitted, even she sometimes needed to go \u201ca little low\u201d by venting in private.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cGoing high isn\u2019t just a public act of stoicism all the time. It is a measure of how we should behave as adults in the real world. You go have your tantrum in the closet, like a real adult,\u201d she joked, adding: \u201cDon\u2019t call yourself a leader and not have the personal discipline to just shut up and think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">After eight years in the White House, then eight more years of recovery, the Obamas now spend much of their time spreading the word that there will be a world, and an America, beyond Trump. This is often done via public speaking events and their media company Higher Ground, which puts out documentaries and podcasts such as the one hosted by Michelle herself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Obama said her dream podcast guest would be Dolly Parton or Elton John. \u201cBut I\u2019ve met Nelson Mandela. I\u2019ve met two popes. I\u2019ve met Maya Angelou \u2026 I\u2019ve met Stevie Wonder. Prince performed at the White House months before he died,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe\u2019ve lived an extraordinary life and have had an opportunity to \u2026 be in places that I would have never imagined, as Michelle Robinson on the south side of Chicago. So it\u2019s hard for me to sit here and want more, because we\u2019ve had so much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">After a second show on Tuesday night in Melbourne, Obama heads to Sydney for two more shows on Thursday and Friday, which will be hosted by the ABC\u2019s Leigh Sales.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/michelleobama\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Michelle Obama<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/australia-news\/melbourne\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Melbourne<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/australia-news\/sydney\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Sydney<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/features\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">features<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=%E2%80%98Many%20billionaires%20are%20not%20happy%20people%E2%80%99:%20Michelle%20Obama%20talks%20politics%20and%20going%20%E2%80%98a%20little%20low%E2%80%99%20in%20first%20Australian%20event&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/20\/michelle-obama-speaking-tour-australia-politics-trump?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F20%2Fmichelle-obama-speaking-tour-australia-politics-trump&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/20\/michelle-obama-speaking-tour-australia-politics-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michelle Obama pictured at a speaking event in Atlanta, Georgia in 2019. The former first lady will speak<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}