PARADE salary survey: 25-year-old Facebook founder earned $3 billion in 2009
NEW YORK -- PARADE magazine is coming out with its annual salary survey this weekend, and not surprisingly, celebrities and athletes again top the list of top earners in the country.
The extreme disparity between the top earners and the rest of the country is highlighted in PARADE's press release about their feature: 19 of the featured celebrities and notables included in their list made a combined $3.4 billion, while 106 "regular" Americans in the salary survey made a combined $7.6 million.
The full press release follows:
PARADE'S 27th ANNUAL WHAT PEOPLE EARN SALARY SURVEY FINDS THAT CELEBS AND ATHLETES ARE RAKING IN THE DOUGH; PASTOR EARNED MORE THAN 'SNOOKI'; TWILIGHT WRITER EARNED THREE TIMES MORE THAN TWILIGHT STAR
New York, April 8 - Can you guess who makes more? A crossing guard or a reality TV star? A famous rapper or the CEO of one of the largest banks in the U.S.? Ellen DeGeneres or Jay Leno? PARADE's annual salary report, "What People Earn," features all of these salaries and many, many more! As usual, the report finds a huge disparity between the wages earned by celebrities, CEOs, and other boldfaced names and the rest of us working folk.
When you do the math, the 19 bold faced names featured in PARADE's 2010 "What People Earn" salary survey made 450+ times more than the 106 "regular" people who participated. The front runner in our salary round-up this year is the 25-year-old billionaire founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, who earned $3 billion. Compare that to an IT specialist from Hanover, Pa., who earned $40,000. The lowest earner is a secret shopper from Reedsport, Ore., who made $1300.
Reality star Nicole Polizzi, better known as "Snooki" to fans of MTV's Jersey Shore, earned only $2200 ($200 per episode) last year. However, in 2010, Snooki and her poof will earn $10,000 per episode, which translates to more than $100k, not to mention potential appearance fees. Other low earners, both of whom work part time, are a Kansan pastor, who earned $5800, and a New Jersey-based crossing guard, who brought home $5900.
Despite ending the year with a scandal, Tiger Woods made $110 million in 2009. 2010 may be much less lucrative, as several major corporate sponsors pulled their endorsements. Tennis pro Ken Glanville from Raleigh, N.C., brought home just $43,100. Bob Akmens, a sports handicapper from Montgomery, N.Y., made $1.3 million. Bob earned almost as much betting on sports as football player Michael Vick made playing them ($1.6 million).
Interestingly, a dog handler from the U.S. Army earned $30,000. Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn brought home $3 million, not to mention a gold medal.
Other recognizable names and faces also earned millions: Country sensation Taylor Swift brought home $17.2 million, while her "frenemy," Kanye West, earned a wee bit more, with $25 million.
Johnny Depp also raked in a whopping $25 million; celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck cooked up a storm of $18 million; and, while he may not have brought home an Oscar, $50 million ought to bring Avatar director James Cameron some solace. Twilight star Kristen Stewart brought home $16 million last year, while Twilight series writer Stephenie Meyer earned more than three times that, with $50 million.
Compare these salaries to those of Albuquerque-based actor, Cliff Gravell, 71, who earned $15,000, and writer Jared Duval from New Haven, Conn., who earned $45,000.
Lucky for some they have the gift of gab. Talk-show host and American Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres earned $35 million last year, Jay Leno earned $32 million, and talk-show host Glenn Beck earned $23 million. Meanwhile, Wilmington, Del., radio reporter Nancy Lopez earned $75,000, and Kim Burgess, a newspaper reporter from Logan, Utah, brought home $22,200.
Some of the more interesting occupations in this year's issue include: a North Carolina-based autopsy technician, who earned $39,400; an inventor of a toddler bike from South Dakota, who brought home $102,000, and a tractor salesman from Arkansas, who made $58,100. And while street drug dealers seem to rake in the dough, those who do it legally don't see quite the same payout. A medical-marijuana provider from Oregon earned only $17,000 last year.
Even with the banking crisis, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf can't complain, considering he raked in $18.7 million. Interestingly, there was still some money to be made in real estate if you lived in the right market-two of our highest non-celebrity earners were a real-estate broker, Jeri Kuddes of Tollhouse, Calif., who earned $212,000; and a high-end luxury real-estate appraiser, Tim Savage of Vail, Colo., who brought home $215,000.
With nearly one in every 10 Americans looking for work, the job search is tougher than ever. PARADE chose five unemployed people and paired each with a career counselor. Meet them in this Sunday's issue, then visit Parade.com/jobs to read daily updates on their job hunts. Offer your own advice or support, learn what their career counselors are saying-and, hopefully, congratulate them when they get jobs.
Visit Parade.com/salary for hundreds of more real people and their salaries.
