PARADE's 25th annual "What People Earn" salary survey finds celebs, CEOs, athletes -- and one very lucky dog -- are raking in the dough.
By PARADE Magazine
What did you want to be when you grew up? A doctor? An actress? A Super Bowl champ? A hospital clown? A CEO? A psychic? "What People Earn," the annual salary survey conducted by PARADE, offers an eye-opening look this weekend at how much Americans are getting paid in jobs ranging fro the mundane to the fabulous. Predictably, the survey shows a huge disparity between the wages earned by celebrities, CEOs and pro athletes and the take-home pay of ordinary Americans. In fact, the 18 celebrities featured in the survey -- the magazine's 25th in as many years -- made an astronomical 100 times more than the 112 "regular" people who participated.
Ironically, one of the biggest earners in this year's survey, which will be available through newspapers nationwide on Sunday, is Leona Helmsley's 8-year-old white Maltese canine, Trouble, who banked $12 million in 2007, thanks to a trust created by the deceased real estate tycoon. The dog's portfolio stands in a stark contrast to the $50,000 annual salary that Heather Schatz, a 27-year-old veterinarian from St. Louis, Mo., earns for treating animals.
Television personalities raked in substantial salaries in 2007, ranging from small-screen self-help guru Dr. Phil McGraw, 57, who earned $90 million, to TV and radio host Ryan Seacrest, 33, who took home $12 million. Today show host Meredith Vieira, 54, racked up $10 million, the same amount as comedian Jeff Foxworthy, 49. But all of these earnings look paltry in comparison to those of TV personality Oprah Winfrey, 54, a one-woman cottage industry who earned a whopping $260 million last year, tops among the featured celebrities in the report. Meanwhile, Ted Dawson, a 64-year-old sportscaster from Idaho Falls, Idaho, earned $33,500, and Chelsea Lynn, 23, a television reporter from Anchorage, Alaska, brought home only $28,900.
Not many people can make Oprah look cash-poor, but 52-year-old hedge-fund manager John Paulson does a pretty good job. He raked in $3.5 billion last year. Other businessmen with astronomical earnings include Boeing CEO James McNerney, 58, who made $19 million in 2007, and Kerry Killinger, 58, CEO of Washington Mutual, who made $5.25 million. Ordinary cogs in America's corporate machinery, meanwhile, did less well: Payroll administrator Kim Leisure, 41, of Ocoee, Fla., banked $41,000; telephone operator Ken Hammock, 66, from Oxford, Ala., $12,000; Barbara Ferguson, 39, a financial analyst from Springfield, Ill., $33,800; and Leah McRae, a 24-year-old ad-agency employee from Kernersville, N.C., $28,000.
Film actresses did well. Scarlett Johansson, 23, made $5 million last year; Jessica Alba, 26, made $9 million, and Katherine Heigl, 29, made $11 million. The money is even better on the other side of the camera: Director Steven Spielberg, 61, banked a cool $110 million in 2007. Providing solid evidence that art doesn't always imitate life, TV actress Mariska Hargitay, 44, earned $7 million for portraying a New York City police detective on the hit NBC show Law & Order: SVU, while Jessica Townshed, 33, a real-life crime-scene technician from Mobile, Ala., earned $35,000, and Joshua Shelton, a 25-year-old police detective from Fayetteville, Ga., earned $40,000.
Athletes also scored heavily in 2007. Golf phenom Tiger Woods, 32, took home $115 million, while Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, 27, earned a giant paycheck of $11.5 million. Jeanette Lee, 36, a billiards player from Mooresville, Tenn., pocketed $650,000, while Jason Miller, 34, a rodeo steer wrestler from Lance Creek, Wyo., earned $178,000.
The distinction of earning the least in PARADE's survey belongs to Edward Perry, a 26-year-old Peace Corps volunteer from Los Angeles, who made only $2,900 in 2007.
Whatever they earn, Americans remain cautious about spending as the U.S. economy tightens. According to a nationally representative poll conducted by PARADE in conjunction with its "What People Earn" report, 75% of respondents said they made sacrifices last year to make ends meet -- 68% dialed back vacation plans, 67% dined out less frequently, and 52% put off home improvements. Among their biggest financial concerns: the cost of fuel (39%), saving for retirement (16%) and the cost of health insurance (14%). A whopping 93% think the economy should be the top concern of the presidential candidates.
We are stupid enough to give it to them....while gas/oil prices soar along with our food bills---we continue to watch/pay for and admire NASCAR-----how many tires are burned out and changed in a race?--how much gas/oil/synthetics etc are spent????? and yet,,,,,baaaaaaaaaaaaa
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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