Where All of President Obama's Top Aides Have Ended Up

Robert Gibbs isn't the only one to turn to the private sector.

ByABC News
June 9, 2015, 6:52 PM
President Barack Obama and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs walk through the Rose Garden back to the Oval Office after the outdoor senior staff meeting in Washington, Aug. 12, 2009.
President Barack Obama and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs walk through the Rose Garden back to the Oval Office after the outdoor senior staff meeting in Washington, Aug. 12, 2009.
Pete Souza/The White House

— -- President Barack Obama's former press secretary Robert Gibbs is far from the first high profile staffer to leave the White House for a plum private sector gig.

The announcement that Gibbs will be headed to work in the corporate offices of McDonald's Golden Arches makes his just one of the latest who joined companies with household names.

Gibbs' successor, Jay Carney, left the White House in May 2014 to join Amazon and is said to report directly to the company's CEO Jeff Bezos.

Though David Plouffe was not as well-known as Carney or Gibbs outside of political circles, the President's campaign manager joined ride-sharing start up Uber in August. His political savvy was likely seen as an asset since the company faced various disputes with taxi commissions in certain cities as it pushed to spread nationally.

PHOTO: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney speaks at the St. Regis Hotel on June 19, 2014 in Washington, DC.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney speaks at the St. Regis Hotel on June 19, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Rather than turning to Silicon Valley, former head speechwriter Jon Favreau set his sights on Hollywood. Though he has kept tight-lipped about the individual projects that he's working on, he is reportedly working in screenwriting as well as involving himself in communications consulting.

One of the biggest personalities in the early years of the Obama White House went on to launch his own political career. Rahm Emanuel was the president's chief of staff left the White House in October 2010 before running and winning the election for Chicago's mayor. He was re-elected in April of this year.

Alyssa Mastromonaco left her role as deputy chief of staff for operations to help run Vice as the media company's chief operating officer.

McDonalds, Uber, Amazon and Vice are more approachable brands than the consulting firms that most political aides flock towards when they leave 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but not everyone has shied away from that well-beaten path.

David Axelrod, the moustachioed senior advisor who played a very public role in both of Obama's presidential campaigns, has been involved in consulting work and has written a book about his time with the President. He also took on an academic role as the director of the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics.

Jim Messina, who worked hand in hand with Axelrod during the campaigns, turned his attention across the Atlantic and was hired by the United Kingdom's Conservative Party in 2013.

Messona helped Prime Minister David Cameron gain a majority in Parliament in the country's general elections this May, according to the BBC.

The Guardian reported that the two men actually had a bit of a rivalry in that race since Axelrod did some consulting for the Labour party, and he tipped his hat to Messina after the results were in.

While neither of Obama's key campaign managers have publicly shifted their attention to the 2016 race yet, Michelle Obama's former communications director Kristina Schake signed on as Hillary Clinton's deputy communications director in March.